CM / Res.1040 (XLIV) RESOLUTION ON THE SITUATION OF REFUGEES IN AFRICA
The Council of Ministers of the Organization of Africa Unity, meeting at its Forty- fourth Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 21 to 26 July, 1986,
Having thoroughly examined the report of the OAU Secretary-General on the activities of the General Secretariat in relation to the refugee situation in Africa and the report of the OAU Commission of Fifteen on Refugees,
Considering the continued incidence of refugee influxes in certain parts of the Continent and the heavy sacrifices imposed upon the OAU Member states in hosting refugees,
Recognizing further the enormous burden placed on the frontline and other asylum States by the refugee problem and the need for increased assistance,
Fully aware of the urgent need to gather reliable and accurate statistical data on refugee and returnee populations,
Reaffirming once more the various OAU Resolutions and particularly Res. CM/Res.987 (XLII) on the accession to the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, the 1969 OAU Convention governing the specific aspects of the refugee problem in Africa as well as principles enshrined in the 1981 African Charter on Human and People’s Rights,
Recalling Resolution CM/939 (XL) on the need and urgency to organize an International Conference on the Southern African Refugee Situation,
Recalling its Resolution CM/Res.1022 (XLIII) calling on the international community, especially the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to contribute financially to the OAU Special Refugee Contingency Fund,
Considering the continuing struggle in South Africa and Namibia leading to the influx of refugees into neighboring States,
Considering the havoc wreaked on the Frontline and other States bordering racist South Africa as a result of the acts of aggression and destabilization of the Pretoria regime coupled with the activities of the South African armed bandit in these States,
Aware of the tremendous difficulties faced by the countries of origin when reintegrating returnees in their social-economic structures,
Welcoming the positive developments taking place in several parts of Africa, particularly in the Horn of Africa and Uganda in connection with the repatriation of refugees,
Cognizant of the urgent need to integrate the formulation and implementation of the refugee returnee programmes into the national medium and long term development plans in order to ensure co-ordinated, coherent and far reaching socioeconomic 1r.esultsT: AKES NOTE of the report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the
General Secretariat on the situation of refugees in Africa;
ADOPTS the report on the activities of the OAU Commission of Fifteen on Refugees (Document CM/1391 (XLIV));
EXPRESS its gratitude to Member States for continuing to accept refugees and displaced persons in spite of the economic difficulties facing most African States;
APPEALS to the donor community and all the development aid-giving body to sustain and increase their contributions for the implementation of ICARA II Project;
COMMENDS the Frontline States and other States bordering racist South Africa for the sacrifices they continue to make, in spite of the grave dangers
to which they have been exposed, as a result of granting asylum and other forms of assistance to refugees;
EXPRESSES its gratitude to OAU Member States which have generously and spontaneously offered transit or resettlement facilities to South African refugees and appeals to all other Member States to urgently consider receiving these refugees either in transit or for resettlement in the spirit of “burden sharing” as enshrined in the 1979 Arusha Conference Recommendations and the OAU Convention;
CALLS on OAU Member States receiving refugees or returnees to integrate the formulation and implementation of refugee programmes into the national plans in order to ensure the continuous viability and funding of such programmes to the benefit of the refugees/returnees and surrounding local populations where feasible;
TAKES NOTE with great satisfaction of the favorable developments in the Horn of Africa and in Uganda and expresses hope that such positive developments will promote further voluntary repatriation of refugees, and calls on Member States concerned to strengthen the measures already taken to accelerate new repatriation movements;
ESPRESSES further its gratitude to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the OAU Secretariat, non-governmental organizations, voluntary agencies, and donor countries for their various activities in favor of refugees and displaced persons and the measures they have taken to contain the refugee situation in Africa;
URGES Member States to co-operate with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the OAU Secretariat in collecting accurate and reliable statistical data with a view to achieving better planning of refugee/returnee programmes in order to enhance the humanitarian character, retain and foster the credibility of such programmes;
REQUESTS, once again, the international community, especially the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to seriously consider contributing financially to the OAU Special Refugee Contingency Fund;
URGES those Member States that have not yet done so to consider, as a matter of urgency, ratifying the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, the 1969 OAU Convention and the 1981 African Charter on Human and People’s Rights;
APPEALS to the international community and donor countries to strengthen the financial capacity of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Voluntary Agencies to enable them to redouble their assistance to the Frontline and other OAU Member States receiving refugees/returnees in order to adequately meet relief/rehabilitation needs;
REQUESTS the Secretary-General to undertake consultations with Member States of the SADCC and the SADCC Secretariat, the United Nations Secretary-General, the High Commissioner for Refugees with a view to setting up an Ad-Hoc Preparatory Committee comprising the representatives of the Secretariats of the above institutions for the purpose of defining precise objectives and main themes, including the question of displaced persons proposing the agenda items as well as the dates and venue of the proposed international conference on the Southern African refugee situation;
REQUESTS further the Secretary-General to follow-up on the Conference preparations and report to the 45th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers.