VATICAN CITY, NOV 7, 2000 (VIS) - Archbishop Renato Martino, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations, spoke yesterday before the Third Committee of the 55th session of the General Assembly on Item 109, the Report of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Questions Relating to Refugees, Returnees and Displaced Persons and Humanitarian Questions.
He pointed to "the steady success" of the work of the UNHCR regarding refugees and displaced persons but added that "unfortunately ... there continue to be situations where people are forced from their homes. This remains one of the great tragedies of our times."
The archbishop cited data from the UNHCR Report on refugees, saying their numbers has increased worldwide to 22.3 million, of whom 11.6 million are refugees and 4.08 internally displaced persons. He stated that from 50 to 70 percent are children, "some of whom have lived their entire life in a refugee camp."
Archbishop Martino, underscoring that "poor countries have borne the heaviest burden of receiving refugees," declared that they "need the solidarity of the international community, particularly of the wealthier nations, who accept only a small part of this burden."
"The Holy See," he said, "continues to call for a peaceful solution of conflicts and the recognition and respect of human dignity. ... (It) encourages the development of a clearer system of responsibility for internally displaced persons and welcomes the work of the upcoming World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance."
"The Holy See welcomes the special attention that was given to family protection issues," he concluded. "It is no surprise to my delegation to read in paragraph 21 of the Report that '... experience has shown that the family unit has a better chance of reintegrating in their home or integrating into a new country than do individual refugees'."
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