Delegates Call for Durable Solutions to Prolonged Refugee Situations, Third
Committee Hears, Ending Two-Day Thematic Debate
Sixty-ninth session,
42nd Meeting (PM)
8 November 2014
Speakers Introduce Range of Draft Texts, Covering Country Reports, Missing
Persons, Journalists, Corruption
Armed conflicts and weather-related disasters resulted in prolonged refugee
situations, severely affecting host communities as well as humanitarian
organizations, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard
today as it concluded its discussion on refugees, returnees and displaced
persons. The Committee also introduced several draft resolutions covering a
range of issues, from missing persons to safety for journalists.
Forty years of war and crisis have forced millions of Afghans to seek safety
and security away from their homes in unfamiliar slums, cities and towns
inside and outside the country, a representative of Afghanistan told the
Committee. Displaced persons in Afghanistan and around the world faced
numerous challenges, he added, emphasizing the obligations of host
governments under international refugee law. Voluntary return and
sustainable reintegration for the over three million Afghans having refugee
or internally displaced person status was sought by the Government.
Similarly, Georgia's representative described a protracted situation in his
country, which had been deeply affected by forced displacement. He said
nearly 10 per cent of Georgia's population of 4.2 million had been forced
out of their homes in the occupied territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali.
The human rights situation inside the occupied regions was of particular
concern given the lack of international monitoring mechanisms. No progress
had been made in the Geneva International Discussions and the Russian
Federation had continued to disregard the applicability of internationally
recognized principles, he said.
Echoing that sentiment was a representative of Ukraine, who said the
situation of forced displacement for more than 275,000 Ukrainians was "of
Russia's own making". It was a direct consequence of its aggression, he
added, which started with the invasion and occupation of the Autonomous
Republic of Crimea, an integral part of Ukraine, and went on with creating
and fuelling conflict in the east of the country. He then urged the Russian
Federation to stop waging a hybrid war against Ukraine, halt sponsoring and
arming terrorists, fully withdraw its troops and mercenaries and establish
effective and verifiable border control.
Fiji's delegate warned of a different type of threat that was forcibly
displacing a growing number of people. Rising sea levels could indeed
reshape the world's coastlines affecting some of the most densely populated
areas and forcing communities to relocate, he said. In 2013 alone, 22
million people had been displaced due to natural disasters and had suffered
from weather-related crises, including floods and storms.
The humanitarian community had been working closely with governments to
ensure that those in need received the assistance and protection they
required, a representative of the International Organization for Migration
told the Committee. As an example of cooperation on efforts to provide much
needed assistance, her organization and the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees had been deployed in the most severe,
large-scale crises, including in South Sudan, Iraq and Syria, in order to
provide a coordinated response to the enormous humanitarian needs faced by
displaced populations and migrants.
Also speaking during the Committee's general debate were representatives of
Cameroon and Eritrea.
ELSA HAILE (Eritrea) said poverty, natural disasters and insecurity had
spurred large movements of people in all parts of the world. In that
regard, she called upon all stakeholders to galvanize efforts to ensure that
refugees' rights were fully protected. As a signatory to the African
Refugee Convention, Eritrea supported the idea that all refugee camps should
be under the control of UNHCR. In conclusion, her delegation encouraged
Member States to assist in refugees to return to their home countries.
Presenting draft resolutions for the Committee's consideration were
representatives of Bolivia (on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing
countries and China), Colombia, Canada, Italy, Austria, Azerbaijan, Greece,
Chile, Sweden and Qatar.
Representatives of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Iran
expressed objections to the texts related to human rights situations in
their respective countries.
The Third Committee will meet again on Tuesday, 11 November, at 10 a.m. to
take action on draft resolutions.