coordinator for refugee children within UNHCR and establishment of guidelines on protection of refugee women. The United States supported all these initiatives. Although the United States does not generally support expansion of governing bodies of international organizations, it joined the consensus on resolution 46/105 entitled "Enlargement of the Executive Committee of the Program of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees" because two especially significant countries-Hungary and Ethiopia-were involved. Hungary was the first Eastern European state to apply for membership on UNHCR's Executive Committee. Ethiopia had been an important refugee producing and receiving nation, and had become a primary focus of repatriation efforts. In her statement before the Third Committee, the U.S. Representative to the Third Committee commended UNHCR for progress in 1991 on emergency preparedness, voluntary repatriation, and programs for refugee women and children. She commended the Executive Committee for doubling the Emergency Fund from $10 million to $20 million. For UNHCR voluntary repatriation programs to be successful, she emphasized, other UN agencies must play their part to ensure returnees can become self-reliant after they return to their country. Finally, she called on UNHCR to increase female representation on its staff, in order to better implement newly established guidelines for refugee women and children. Programs Donors contributed $903.8 million to UNHCR programs in 1991. Expenditures included $379 million for General Programs and $427.6 million for Special Programs. The United States contributed $197.6 million in support of UNHCR calendar year 1991 assistance programs worldwide. Africa UNHCR completed programs repatriating more than 50,000 Ethiopians from Sudan and over 2,000 Namibians from Zambia. It also took the first steps toward instituting programs to repatriate an estimated 300,000 Angolans, 250,000 Eritreans and 30,000 South Africans. UNHCR repatriation programs remained on hold for Liberian, Somali and Angolan refugees due to insecure conditions in those countries. Refugees and displaced persons fleeing famine and civil warinduced famine continued to make the Horn of Africa a major focus for UNHCR. A special UN appeal raised $120.2 million for humanitarian relief operations in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti. UNHCR statistics indicated more than 1.8 million refugees or returnees in these countries at the end of 1991. Asia The region-wide population in UNHCR camps at the end of 1991 was 111,000. In addition, there were some 330,000 Cambodians in camps managed by the UN Border Relief Operation (UNBRO). The Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA) adopted in 1989 continues to increase the number of Vietnamese repatriating voluntarily to their country and the number of Vietnamese departing legally to the United States via the Orderly Departure Program (ODP). From the CPA's adoption until 1991, some 20,000 people had voluntarily repatriated, with UNHCR projecting the total for 1991 at 12,500—almost double the 1990 figure. In the final quarter of 1991, over 23,000 left Vietnam through the ODP, while only 681 Vietnamese boat people arrived at first asylum countries in the region. Despite this success, problems remained. Arrivals to Hong Kong tripled to more than 20,000 in 1991. Current screening statistics indicate that claims to refugee status of at least 55,000 of the estimated 64,000 Vietnamese remaining in Hong Kong camps and detention centers at the end of 1991 would be turned down. A Paris International Peace Conference agreement signed October 23 set the stage for repatriation of Cambodian refugees in Thailand. The United States contributed $5 million toward the UNHCR repatriation plan, scheduled to begin in 1992. In 1991 UNHCR also organized repatriation of 2,199 Laotian refugees. Europe The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union resulted in profound internal changes in those countries. Ethnic rivalries, new nationalist stirrings, and economic dislocations helped generate the largest number of European refugees and displaced persons since World War II. In Yugoslavia alone, more than 500,000 people fled their home republics when civil war erupted in the wake of announced intentions of Slovenia and Croatia to seek independence. UNHCR and UNICEF issued a joint appeal in November, and by the end of the year had collected about $9 million for relief efforts in Yugoslavia. The President on December 17 authorized disbursement of $7 million from the Emergency Ref ugee and Migration Assistance fund to UNHCR and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for assistance to refugees and displaced persons in Yugoslavia. At year's end, UNHCR was gradually assuming responsibility from the ICRC for support of internal refugees within Yugoslav borders. The United States also gave UNHCR $1.8 million for use in an emergency program for Yugoslav refugees in Hungary. The Italian Government and private organizations took the lead in caring for an estimated 50,000 Albanians who fled to Italy during the summer, minimizing UNHCR's role. During the year, UNHCR began to seek agreements with new Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Governments to educate them about refugee-related issues and strengthen their capacity to respond to emergency population flows. Latin America UNHCR assisted approximately 123,000 refugees in the region in 1991, and continuing regional peace efforts and interagency cooperation through the International Conference on Central American Refugees (CIREFCA) made for further progress toward durable solutions. Repatriation work continued, with almost 60,000 Nicaraguans and Salvadorans returning to their countries. The High Commissioner closed the last Nicaraguan refugee camp in Costa Rica in November and most remaining camps in Honduras were also closed. The Government of Guatemala signed a letter of understanding with UNHCR regarding repatriation of 30,000 Guatemalan refugees in Mexico, but UNHCR's plan to carry this out will not be put into effect until late 1992, at the earliest. In November, as the number of boat people leaving Haiti increased dramatically, UNHCR worked with the United States and the Organization of American States (OAS) to promote and identify third country safehavens for Haitians rescued at sea. In December UNHCR organized and oversaw voluntary repatriation of 177 Haitians from camps in Honduras and Venezuela. Southwest Asia, North Africa and the Middle East The Gulf War posed the greatest challenge in UNHCR's 40year history. At the beginning of April, UNHCR was assisting 50,000 people who had fled Kuwait and Iraq. Two weeks later, Iraqi Government internal repression caused the number to skyrocket to 560,000. By mid-May, 1.9 million Iraqis had either fled to Iran and Turkey, or were camped in mountains along the Iraqi-Turkish border. By the end of August, less than 70,000 refugees remained in camps outside Iraq, but UNHCR continued to provide emergency assistance to more than 500,000 displaced persons inside Iraq. UNHCR was given the lead role in a joint UN Humanitarian Plan of Action to respond to this crisis. Under an appeal issued by the UN Executive Director for this plan, UNHCR spent $120 million on Gulf operations. The United States contributed $50.6 million to fund UNHCR programs. At year's end, 232 UNHCR personnel were working in Iraq, 55 in Iran, and 22 more in Turkey. Under joint programs with the Government of Pakistan, UNHCR continued to provide food, shelter, health care and vocational training to some 3 million Afghan refugees. Some 200,000 Afghans returned home in 1991 under UNHCR's voluntary repatriation program. UNHCR predicted the return of 400,000-500,000 Afghans in 1992 under this repatriation program. Significant developments in the UN-brokered Afghan conflict resolution process in 1991, reinforced by the January 1, 1992, cessation of U.S., Soviet and international arms supplies to the various parties, are expected to lead to even higher levels of voluntary repatriation. UNHCR continued to work inside Afghanistan to assist Afghans returning from Iran as well as with the Office of the Coordinator for UN Humanitarian and Economic Assistance Programs Relating to Afghanistan (UNOCA) on rehabilitation and reconstruction activities in Afghanistan. In 1991 the United States contributed $14.6 million to UNHCR's refugee program in Pakistan, bringing total U.S. contributions since 1980 to more than $242 million. UN Security Council resolution 690, adopted April 29, created a Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The settlement plan it called for included a UNHCR voluntary repatriation program for Western Saharans eligible to vote in the referendum scheduled for 1992. A dispute over determination of those eligible to vote prevented progress on the repatriation program in 1991. Other Social Issues World Summit on Social Development Economic and Social Council decision 1991/230, adopted on May 30, requested the Secretary General to carry out consultations with all member states on the possibility of convening a world summit for social development and reporting back to ECOSOC at its regular session of 1992. The 46th General Assembly, without a vote, adopted a resolution on "Social Development" (Resolution 46/139), which welcomed the decision, called upon member states to cooperate actively in these consultations, and called upon the ECOSOC to make an appropriate recommendation to the next General Assembly. The United States, believing the decision to hold such a summit should first be vetted through the Commission for Social Development, did not support either the ECOSOC decision or the resolution. Rather than vote against the resolution, however, the U.S. Delegation did not participate in its adoption. International Plans and Programs of Action ECOSOC in 1991 referred an omnibus resolution on various social issues to the General Assembly, which adopted it without a vote as resolution 46/90. Entitled "Monitoring of international plans and programs of action in the field of social development," the resolution reaffirmed the validity of the 1987 resolution 42/125 on guiding principles for developmental social welfare policies and programs in the near future. It urged the Secretary General, regional commissions, and member states to translate the recommendations of the guiding principles into social policy activities. World Social Situation The General Assembly adopted resolution 46/95, "World social situation," by a vote of 157 to 1 (U.S.), with 5 abstentions. The United States questioned both the relevancy and the language of the resolution, and contended it did not contribute to the improvement of the world social situation in a meaningful way. This resolution was substantially the same as similar resolutions the United States has voted against previously. Family The United States strongly supports the protection and strengthening of the family as the basic social and economic unit of society. The 45th General Assembly resolution 45/133, "International year of the family," was adopted in 1990 without a vote. This resolution requested the Secretary General finalize a draft program for the preparation and observance of the International Year of the Family in 1994. The 46th Assembly adopted resolution 46/92, entitled "Preparation for and observance of the International Year of the Family," "without a vote. The resolution endorsed preparations made |