Human rights and mass exoduses : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly

The General Assembly,

Mindful of its general humanitarian mandate under the Charter of the United Nations to promote and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Deeply disturbed by the continuing scale and magnitude of exoduses of refugees and displacements of population in many regions of the world and by the human suffering of millions of refugees and displaced persons,

Conscious of the fact that human rights violations are one of the multiple and complex factors causing mass exoduses of refugees and displaced persons, as indicated in the study of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on this subject and also in the report of the Group of Governmental Experts on International Co-operation to Avert New Flows of Refugees,

Aware of the recommendations concerning mass exoduses made by the Commission on Human Rights to its Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities and to special rapporteurs to be taken into account when they are studying violations of human rights in any part of the world,

Deeply preoccupied by the increasingly heavy burden being imposed, particularly upon developing countries with limited resources of their own and upon the international community as a whole, by these sudden mass exoduses and displacements of population,

Stressing the need for international co-operation aimed at averting new massive flows of refugees in parallel with the provision of durable solutions to actual refugee situations,

Reaffirming its resolution 41/70 of 3 December 1986, in which it endorsed the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report of the Group of Governmental Experts on International Co-operation to Avert New Flows of Refugees,

Recalling its resolutions 35/196 of 15 December 1980, 37/186 of 17 December 1982, 38/103 of 16 December 1983, 39/117 of 14 December 1984, 40/149 of 13 December 1985, 41/70, 41/148 of 4 December 1986 and 42/144 of 7 December 1987, and Commission on Human Rights resolutions 30 (XXXVI) of 11 March 1980, 29 (XXXVII) of 11 March 1981, 1982/32 of 11 March 1982, 1983/35 of 8 March 1983, 1984/49 of 14 March 1984, 1985/40 of 13 March 1985, 1986/45 of 12 March 1986, 1987/56 of 11 March 1987 and 1988/70 of 10 March 1988,

Welcoming the steps taken so far by the United Nations to examine the problem of massive outflows of refugees and displaced persons in all its aspects, including its root causes,

1.         Recalls the recommendation of the Group of Governmental Experts on International Co-operation to Avert New Flows of Refugees that the principal organs of the United Nations should make fuller use of their respective competencies under the Charter of the United Nations for the prevention of new massive flows of refugees and displaced persons;

2.         Invites all Governments and intergovernmental and humanitarian organizations concerned to intensify their co-operation and assistance in world-wide efforts to address the serious problems resulting from mass exoduses of refugees and displaced persons, and also the causes of such exoduses;

3.         Requests all Governments to ensure the effective implementation of the relevant international instruments, in particular in the field of human rights, as this would contribute to averting new massive flows of refugees and displaced persons;

4.         Invites the Commission on Human Rights to keep the question of human rights and mass exoduses under review with a view to making appropriate recommendations concerning further measures to be taken in this matter;

5.         Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on human rights and mass exoduses;

6.         Encourages the Secretary-General to continue to take the necessary steps to discharge the function and responsibilities described in the report of the Group of Governmental Experts on International Co-operation to Avert New Flows of Refugees;

7.         Notes the establishment by the Secretary-General of the Office for Research and the Collection of Information to co-ordinate information-gathering and analysis with United Nations bodies so as to provide early warning on developing situations requiring the Secretary-General's attention, as well as to provide a focal point within the United Nations system for policy responses;

8.         Urges the Secretary-General to use the resources available to consolidate and strengthen the early warning system in the humanitarian area by, inter alia, early computerization of the Office for Research and the Collection of Information and strengthened co-ordination among the relevant parts of the United Nations system, especially the Office for Research and the Collection of Information, as well as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Centre for Human Rights of the Secretariat and the relevant specialized agencies;

9.         Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its forty-fourth session on the strengthened role that the Secretary-General could play in undertaking early warning activities, especially in the humanitarian area, as well as on any further developments relating to the recommendations contained in the report of the Group of Governmental Experts on International Co-operation to Avert New Flows of Refugees;

10.       Decides to continue consideration of the question of human rights and mass exoduses at its forty-fourth session.