HOLY SEE ON REFUGEES, RETURNEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 21, 2001 (VIS) - Archbishop Renato Martino, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, spoke yesterday before the Third Committee of the General Assembly on Item 114, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Questions relating to refugees, returnees and displaced persons and humanitarian questions.

"In recent weeks," the archbishop stated, "our attention is so strongly drawn to Afghanistan, although the refugee crisis involving millions of Afghans has been going on for over twenty years. The latest reports from the office of the High Commissioner tell us that more than 3.5 million Afghan refugees have sought refuge in Pakistan and Iran." Quoting Pope John Paul, he noted that the problem of refugees "'is a world emergency which does not allow us to forget that in other parts of the world there continue to be conditions of great and compelling need'."

"What can be done to alleviate or solve the world's refugee problem?" the nuncio asked. "In the short-term, the answer must lie in protecting refugees by providing security, humanitarian assistance, ... and practical relief to those in need of food, water, clothing, shelter, and basic health care."

Archbishop Martino pointed out that "Today the fastest growing group of 'people on the move' are displaced persons who do not cross borders, but are adrift inside their own country. ... But the world has been slow to acknowledge their painful plight."

"It should be abundantly clear," he affirmed, "that the recognition of human dignity and the protection of human rights imply that short-term aid to refugees and internally displaced persons is necessary but not sufficient. The building of more just and peaceful societies, the lack of which is the main cause of population displacements, must become the goal. As on other occasions, the Holy See expresses its commitment to participate in this common task."

"My delegation," concluded Archbishop Martino, "would like to pay tribute to those states that have been courageous enough to welcome refugees and did not remain indifferent in the face of this global problem."

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