We hope the Vietnamese now will respond to this new appeal. Mr. Chairman. there are nearly eight million refugees in the world today. In response to this tragic situation. the United States and the international community actively seek durable solutions. In order of preference. these solutions are: voluntary repatriation to the refugees homelands. permanent resettlement in the countries of first asylum. or resettlement in third countries. including the United States. International refugees assistance programs. for which the United States provides about 30 percent of the funding. help provide basic care and maintenance for the refugees until one of these solutions can be achieved. We believe that our proposed admissions program for 1985. coupled with the expected admissions programs of the other resettlement countries. should meet the requirements for resettlement in the coming year. We will continue to work closely with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and with other countries to ensure that the responsibility for resettlement is shared equitably. This international resettlement effort. along with the planned contributions by the U.S. and other donor countries for refugee relief abroad. should hopefully meet the basic needs of the worlds refugee population. Mr. Chairman. my statement for the record includes an impressive list of accomplishments achieved by the U.S. refugee program over the last ten years. and that is deliberately in there since I think it is important. as we look to what we should try to do in the future. to recognize that all of our efforts and the money we have spent have accomplished a lot. There are genuine achievements. And also I think that the United States should not be hesitant to say what it has done.
Keywords matched
Refugees refugee refugees