16 December 1981

Assistance to student refugees in southern Africa

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 35/184 of 15 December 1980, in which it, inter alia, requested the Secretary-General in co-operation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to organize and implement an effective programme of educational and other appropriate assistance for student refugees from Namibia and South Africa who had taken asylum in Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zambia,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General containing the review by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees of the assistance programmes for student refugees from Namibia and South Africa,

Satisfied that some of the projects recommended in the report on assistance to student refugees in southern Africa have been successfuly completed,

Noting with concern the continued influx into Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zambia of student refugees from South Africa as well as from Namibia,

Convinced that the discriminatory policies and repressive measures being applied in South Africa and Namibia will lead to a further exodus of student refugees from these countries,

Conscious of the burden placed on the limited financial, material and administrative resources of the host countries by the presence of those student refugees,

Appreciating the efforts of host countries to deal adequately with their present student refugee populations and also to be prepared to meet any new emergency by sharing the responsibilities and obligations with the international community,

Noting with satisfaction that provisions were made to allow former student refugees from Zimbabwe to complete their education in the country of asylum or to continue with their studies until alternative arrangements can be made for the completion of their education in their own country,

1. Endorses the assessments and recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General and commends him and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for their efforts to mobilize resources and organize the programme of assistance to student refugees in the host countries of southern Africa;

2. Expresses its appreciation to the Governments of Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zambia for continuing to grant asylum and make educational and other facilities available to the student refugees in spite of the pressure which the continuing influx of those refugees exerts on facilities in their countries;

3. Expresses its appreciation to the Governments of Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zambia for the co-operation which they have extended to the Secretary-General and to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on matters concerning the welfare of these refugees;

4. Notes with appreciation the financial and material support provided for the student refugees by Member States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, other bodies of the United Nations system and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations;

5. Requests the Secretary-General, in co-operation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to continue to organize and implement an effective programme of educational and other appropriate assistance for student refugees from Namibia and South Africa who have taken asylum in Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zambia;

6. Urges all Member States and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to contribute generously to the assistance programmes for the student refugees, through financial support of the regular programmes of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees of the projects identified in the report of the Secretary-General, and of the projects and programmes submitted to the International Conference on Assistance to Refugees in Africa;

7. Appeals to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Food Programme, the World Bank and the United Nations Children's Fund, as well as other international and non-governmental bodies, to provide humanitarian and development assistance to expedite the resettlement and integration of refugee families from South Africa who have been given asylum in Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zambia;

8. Calls upon all agencies and programmes of the United Nations system to co-operate with the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the implementation of humanitarian programmes of assistance for the student refugees in southern Africa;

9. Requests the Secretary-General, in co-operation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to continue to keep the matter under review and apprise the Economic and Social Council, at its second regular session of 1982, of the current status of the programmes, and to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session on the implementation of the present resolution.