Preventive Action for Refugee Producing Situations

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Preface to the second edition When I learned that my publisher wanted to issue a second edition of this book, I wondered what parts of it would be so obsolete that I would need to delete or rewrite them. It is only two years since the publication of "Preventive Actions for Refugee Producing Situations", but many changes have brought about a new international climate. Some of the things I said must have become irrelevant or outdated. But on the whole Part I about empirical examination of actions for preventing refugee producing situations is still valid in most parts and can safely be left for its historical value. As for the analytical discussion, the comments on refugee causes still remain, sadly, unchanged. The actions taken by UNHCR and the Secretary-General for the International Conferences on behalf of Vietnamese and Central American refugees which led to the processes of the CPA (Comprehensive Plan of Action) and the CIREFCA (International Conference on Refugees in Central America) would deserve a separate book to do justice to their significance. They are significant because both Conferences triggered precisely the political will and financial support to deal with old and prevent new refugee problems. Many Vietnamese are now returning with international reinsertion aid. Most Central American refugees and all Nicaraguan refugees, have been home for some time starting life afresh with the help of international and EC aid. In order to place Part II in the new international context, and considering problems which have provoked unprecedented humanitarian crises, we made an assessment of general UN conflict prevention efforts and their prospects in Chapter 4, The end of the Cold War enabled both member states and the UN Security Council as well as the Secretary- General on the one hand and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on the other hand to play more active roles for proposing and actually implementing new approaches. Security and political considerations have led member states in December 1991, after intensive discussions in the General Assembly, to adopt a pragmatic framework for establishing and operating the Department for Humanitarian Affairs in the UN Headquarters, functioning since March 1992. Prevention and early warning are some of the guiding principles established for this new
10 office. The Under Secretary-General responsible has already undertaken several missions using the political authority of the Secretary-General for mediating between countries of origin of new massive refugee situations such as Burma/ Bangladesh and the Horn of Africa. The creation of this new Department and the strengthening of UNHCRs role in country of origin information and preventive protection has gone hand in hand. Early warning information seemed, even at the time of writing four years ago, a task falling totally outside UNHCR's activities. Now it is well recognized to be an important tool for identifying developing refugee situation emergencies, not only for preparedness but also for prevention through mediation and conflict resolution. In 1989/1990, I was responsible for coordinating the drawing up of the initial elements to warn the Office about possible refugee flows so that appropriate measures could be taken, which were integrated into UNHCR's Refugee Emergency Alert System (REAS). Simultaneously preparations were made for UNHCR to start cooperating within an inter-agency framework on developing a UN early warning mechanism. Around the same time the internal UNHCR Task Force on Early Warning was set up, which is now chaired by the Deputy High Commissioner. In an evaluation of UNHCR's protection, an internal working group suggested that, in view of the importance of early warning for the development of preventive strategies, UNHCR should strengthen its capacity for early warning and devote adequate resources for this purpose. It also recommended that the UNHCR Task Force on Early Warning should examine how the current reporting system and organizational structure of the Office could be better used for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of country of origin information by UNHCR on potential refugee flows as well as on internal displacement. The group added that UNHCR should continue to promote the development of an appropriate early warning mechanism for refugee flows within the UN System. I am happy to report that the realization of the policy propositions go beyond what I had projected as feasible four years ago. Of course, it is too early to make an evaluation of the long-term effectiveness of these new approaches. Nevertheless, these are some initial new models of interaction and intervention with regard to refugee-producing situations. I have rewritten Chapter 4 entirely in order to reflect the slowly emerging cooperative mechanisms between peace-keeping, peacemaking, political and humanitarian endeavours for preventing new and treating existing conflict and refugee situations. Chapter 5 with the legal justification remained the same. In this chapter, I confronted the often incredibly misused concept of state sovereignty with the protection of human rights and refugees. The legal analysis of the international community's capacity to intervene for preventing new refugee situations documents the erosion since World War II of domestic jurisdiction over human rights abuses. The use of peace-keeping forces for protecting humanitarian operations, such as in former Yugoslavia and Somalia, a new approach, which is discussed in chapter 4. The message of the book remains unchanged. The international community should move forcefully now, while almost global cooperation is possible, since the vanishing of the East-West Conflict, to institutionalize new preventive and interventionist approaches to save human lives, prevent future abuses and forced population displacement. The Cold War may have ended. But wars, internal and crossborder, are still very much alive. For 1993 I plan to write a new book, which will focus on Europe and new approaches for refugee policies and preventive action. 11
Page 1 and 2: Luise Drüke Preventive Action for
Page 3 and 4: European University Studies Europä
Page 5: Foreword It is a pleasure to welcom
Page 9 and 10: 14 origin information work, with a
Page 11 and 12: 18 Part II "New Approaches and thei
Page 13 and 14: 22 Chapter 1 the consequences inste
Page 15 and 16: 26 Chapter 1 [To] call upon member
Page 17 and 18: 30 Chapter 1 20 million according t
Page 19 and 20: 34 Chapter 1 Introduction 35 abroad
Page 21 and 22: 38 Chapter 1 Consideration of Commu
Page 23 and 24: 42 Chapter 1 grassroots efforts in
Page 25 and 26: 46 Chapter 2 international interven
Page 27 and 28: 50 Chapter 2 In 1981, the U.N. Comm
Page 29 and 30: 54 Chapter 2 Prof. Theodoor van Bov
Page 31 and 32: 58 Chapter 2 producing conflicts ta
Page 33 and 34: 62 Chapter 2 in order to arrive at
Page 35 and 36: 66 Chapter 2 UNHCR to provide detai
Page 37 and 38: 70 Chapter 2 rientation of foreign
Page 39 and 40: 74 Chapter 3 This has happened in V
Page 41 and 42: 78 Chapter 3 3.1.2.1. The OOP (Orde
Page 43 and 44: 82 Chapter 3 steady deterioration o
Page 45 and 46: 86 Chapter 3 Principal pull factors
Page 47 and 48: 90 Chapter 3 These and the general
Page 49 and 50: 94 Chapter 3 settlement was a decis
Page 51 and 52: 98 Chapter 3 a) Vietnam was unwilli
Page 53 and 54: 102 Chapter 3 return of nonrefugees
Page 55 and 56: 106 Chapter 3 other than the USA, m
Page 57 and 58:
110 Chapter 3 groups, "15th of Sept
Page 59 and 60:
114 Chapter 3 practically from the
Page 61 and 62:
118 Chapter 3 We understand from Pr
Page 63 and 64:
122 Chapter 3 which has encouraged
Page 65 and 66:
126 Chapter 3 comprehensive fact-fi
Page 67 and 68:
130 Chapter 3 This program turned a
Page 69 and 70:
134 Chapters 600,000 people to be r
Page 71 and 72:
138 Chapters where they were held.
Page 73 and 74:
CHAPTER 4 New Approaches and Polici
Page 75 and 76:
146 Chapter 4 dependent on the poli
Page 77 and 78:
150 Chapter 4 From the point of vie
Page 79 and 80:
monitoring of factors related to po
Page 81 and 82:
158 Chapter 4 The first such operat
Page 83 and 84:
162 Chapter 4 Estimated cost for 12
Page 85 and 86:
166 Chapter 4 c) Peace-enforcement:
Page 87 and 88:
170 Chapter 4 The main source of fu
Page 89 and 90:
174 Chapter 4 advance mission of mi
Page 91 and 92:
178 Chapter 4 Secondly, the United
Page 93 and 94:
182 Chapter 4 scenarios of new refu
Page 95 and 96:
186 Chapter 4 for devising ways on
Page 97 and 98:
190 Chapter 4 In the midst of the h
Page 99 and 100:
194 Chapter 5 spring, the objection
Page 101 and 102:
198 Chapter 5 52. Definition of pro
Page 103 and 104:
202 Chapter 5 suggest that the prin
Page 105 and 106:
206 Chapter 5 North, no massive ref
Page 107 and 108:
210 Chapter 5 1) 1945-1977: Standar
Page 109 and 110:
214 Chapter 5 Secretary-General to
Page 111 and 112:
218 Chapters rights and to make con
Page 113 and 114:
Concluding remarks 1 Chapter 6 223
Page 115:
226 UNHCR Statistics on Refugee Pop
Page 118 and 119:
230 REFUGIADOS BA.JO MANDATO DEL AC
Page 120 and 121:
1) Estimated non-registered refugee
Page 122:
236 ANNEX IV UNBCR EXPENDITURE 1967
Page 125 and 126:
240 2 Appendices 241 Memorandum of
Page 127 and 128:
244 Appendices Interviews conducted
Page 129 and 130:
248 Appendices UN UN tumees, wherec
Page 131 and 132:
252 Selected Bibliography San Remo:
Page 133 and 134:
256 Selected Bibliography Selected
Page 135 and 136:
260 Selected Bibliography MORRIS, G
Page 137 and 138:
264 Selected Bibliography with Regi
Page 139 and 140:
268 Selected Bibliography .........
Page 141 and 142:
272 Selected Bibliography -—----
Page 143:
This book provides an empirical ana
show all

Preventive Action for Refugee Producing Situations

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?