A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

their liberty. . . The Commission’s listing of categories often denied
education illustrates how the initially simple and neat legal categorizations
of prohibited grounds and types of discrimination have gradually become
complex. 76 (emphasis added)
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Appendix C
The African Commission has “underline[d]” the importance of States directing education towards
the “need[s] of specific groups,” including refugees. 77
The Office of the UNHCR, established December 14, 1950, has as its primary purpose, “to
safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the
right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily,
integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.” 78
International law recognizes that providing for refugees can be a burden on host countries. The
Preamble to the 1951 Refugee Convention specifically notes, “that the grant of asylum may place
unduly heavy burdens on certain countries, and that a satisfactory solution of a problem of which
the United Nations has recognized the international scope and nature cannot therefore be achieved
without international co-operation.” 79
The UNHCR engaged states in a new dialogue about protecting refugees in 2000 which resulted in
a non-binding pledge, the “Agenda for Protection.” After reaffirming a commitment to the 1951
Convention, States committed “to providing, within the framework of international solidarity and
burden-sharing, better refugee protection through comprehensive strategies, notably regionally and
internationally, in order to build capacity, in particular in developing countries and countries with
economies in transition, especially those which are hosting large-scale influxes or protracted refugee
situations, and to strengthening response mechanisms, so as to ensure that refugees have access to
safer and better conditions of stay and timely solutions to their problems.” 80
Unfortunately budget cuts have hindered UNHCR and other international organizations’ abilities to
provide for refugees. “In 2001, UNHCR reported that relief programmes assisting over 2.5 million
refugees in West, East and Central Africa were severely under-funded leading to food shortages,
unreliable drinking water, bare medical clinics, overcrowded schools, and other cuts in basic
services to refugee populations throughout these regions.” 81 The World Food Program (WFP) has
continuously had to reduce food rations. 82 These reductions can be linked not only to poorer health
and malnutrition, but also to sexual exploitation and lower school attendance rates. 83