I rise in support of Senate Concurrent Resolution 26. Mr. Speaker. let me begin by thanking the gentleman from New York for his eloquence and energy for the last 15 years In pursuIng the cause of Southeast Asian refugees and assuring that administration after administration fulfilled Americas responsibility to the people. many of whom put their lives on the line for our country during the war in Vietnam. His voice indeed has often been a lonely voice on this issue. but for 15 years he has been unwaivering in his support for the cause of Southeast Asian refugees and his support for a humane refugee policy in this country. and I thank the gentleman for that. Mr. Speaker. since 1975 over 2 million refugees have fled Vietnam. Laos. and Cambodia. Today about 600.000 refugees remain in camps subject to the continued generosity and good will of Thailand. Malaysia. Hong Kong. the Philippines. and Indonesia. The rest. for the most part. through the largesse of western countries. have been resettled. The continued stream of refugees is taxing the first asylum nations. and they are justly desiring of a solution that addresses circumstances that have changed 15 years after the Vietnam Wars end. Those nations involved in this issue will be meeting in Geneva next week under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary General to craft a more durable approach to the existing very fragile refugee situation in Southeast Asia. It has been 10 years since present policies were agreed to in a similar conference in Geneva and the consensus reached there is now threadbare and outmoded. except that what we believed in then 10 years ago we hold no less dear today. that all who are fleeing persecution in their homelands must be given refuge free of fear or want of safety. D 1530 On this there is no compromising and. indeed. this resolution calls on the U.S. delegation to that conference to make that point very clear.
Keywords matched
refugee refugees