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AFRICA

We recommend an admissions level of 6,500 from Africa.

Many of the most urgent and life threatening refugee emergencies today exist on the continent of Africa, specifically the Horn of Africa. Africa has more than six million refugees, the largest number of refugees than any region of the world. It also has the largest number of internally displaced persons. For every person fleeing civil conflict or gross human rights violations, another remains behind within his or her country.

The gravity of the refugee situation in Africa has been eased by the generous and hospitable reception provided by many African countries to their neighbors. But African governments have had to devote an increasingly greater share of scarce resources to meeting the needs of refugees. Significant support and financial assistance have come from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. However, protracted African emergencies have caused strain and a critical situation now exists. UNHCR cutbacks in assistance are having a profound effect, specifically on refugee children who too often suffer from acute malnutrition. We urge an increased U.S. funding level for such humanitarian assistance.

Despite two decades of dedicated efforts and the resolution of some regional conflicts, the number of refugees has continued to grow, as has the numbers of internally displaced. As long as these conditions remain unresolved, the international community, including the United States, must be prepared to respond.

The recent voluntary repatriation of Namibians and others to their homelands is a positive development. Yet, these represent but a fraction of the continent's total refugee population. The eventual voluntary repatriation of other refugee populations will only become a reality when conditions of peace and stability prevail.

In those cases where voluntary repatriation or local settlement is either unrealistic or unattainable, the United States should receive refugees for resettlement as generously as it does for refugees from other regions of the world.

Admission numbers for Africans have historically been low in comparison to other regions of the world. Processing difficulties have been a strong impediment to meeting even these low levels. The designation of a Joint Voluntary Agency présence in Nairobi has been strongly welcomed by the resettlement agencies and will strengthen the capacity of INS to carry out refugee processing in a part where a considerable backlog still exists. We anticipate the movement of at least 1,500 refugees out of Nairobi, 3,000 Ethiopians from the Sudan and 2,000 refugees from Southern Africa in FY91.

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The largest single ethnic group requiring resettlement in FY91 will continue to be Ethiopian refugees in the Sudan. We welcome efforts on the part of the Sudanese authorities to facilitate the departure of approved refugees and express the hope that no further impediments will be created to limit their movement. At least 3,000 Ethiopian refugees should be admitted from the Sudan to the United States in FY91.

In addition, we call upon the Administration to reflect on the needs of refugees in other parts of Africa, particularly southern Africa and specifically South Africa as part of the overall proposed admission numbers. Attention should also be paid to Africans in other parts of the world, specifically Western Europe, of special humanitarian concern to the U.S. and who meet U.S. eligibility criteria. We would urge that the cut-off date for African refugees in Europe be moved up to January 1990. Developing situations in Kenya and Liberia need to be closely watched, and we need to be ready to respond as the situations emerge. We recommend that, at a minimum, 2,000 refugee admission numbers should be set aside for the above mentioned categories of African refugees.

EAST ASIA/SOUTHEAST ASIA

First Asylum

We recommend an admissions level of 14,500 Indochinese refugees from first asylum, and an additional 1,500 numbers for refugees from Burma (500), The Peoples Republic of China (500) and Tibet (500) total: 16,000.

There will continue to be a need for sufficient numbers for Indochinese refugees in first asylum to assure that the United States meets its obligations under the Comprehensive Plan of Action. At least 5,500 refugee admission numbers for Vietnamese boat people will be required. These will be needed to provide resettlement opportunities for the balance of the long-stayer" populations in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand not resettled in FY90 as well as for the requisite share of the "screened in". We urge that favorable consideration be given to Vietnamese with close ties to the U.S. who have made their way to Europe as a result of the upheaval in Eastern Europe.

In addition to the above, resettlement numbers will have to be made available for 3,000 lowland Lao and 6,000-highland Lao. This may well be the last year where there will be significant numbers of lowland Lao resettled in the United States. Ban Napho camp is scheduled to be closed in 1991: Voluntary repatriation - and involuntary return of the screened out seems to be an accepted practice among the lowlanders. The pool of highland Lao seeking resettlement may shrink as well, and drop precipitously after FY91.

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However, resettlement should remain at high levels in FY91. It is earnestly hoped that an expanded immigration program, even an Orderly Departure Program for Laos, to reunite separated families and resettle those still at risk in that society, will materialize.

Refugees of Special Concern in Southeast Asia

There are at least three other refugee groups in Southeast Asia of special concern to the private voluntary agencies. We believe their needs should be addressed in any consideration of refugee admissions, even though their numbers may not be large. These are:

1. Burmese - In spite of the startling results of the recent elections in Burma, it is by no means certain that democracy will prevail. There are a number of politically active Burmese, primarily now in Thailand, for whom the prospect of repatriation voluntary or involuntary - is unthinkable. At least 500 refugee admission numbers from the Southeast Asian ceiling should be reserved, in the first instance, for these Burmese.

2. Chinese We must be alert to continued violations of human rights in The Peoples Republic of China and be prepared to accept for resettlement those who have a well-founded fear of persecution. While the future direction of Chinese policy cannot be predicted, it would be prudent to reserve 500 refugee numbers for Chinese fleeing the PRC. 3. Tibetans The plight of Tibetans fleeing into Nepal and India continues to weigh heavily on the conscience of free people everywhere. The U.S. refugee movement program should respond to the needs of this group, particularly those at risk of forced repatriation. At least 500 refugee admission numbers should be set aside for Tibetan refugees.

Orderly Departure Program from Vietnam

We recommend an admission level of 40,000 Vietnamese refugees via ODP in FY 1991.

The Orderly Departure Program has now been in existence for over a decade. Despite its early promise of being a means to bring those unable to remain in Vietnam because of their close associations with the United States, ODP now operates almost exclusively in three discrete phases: two exclusively bilateral programs, namely Amerasian and former re-ed prisoners and multilateral family reunification program that almost exclusively operates to process holders of current immigrant visas.

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As agencies deeply concerned about the suffering of long separated families, we are compelled to call for a significant expansion of the family reunification program and for the provision of the

financial and personnel resources necessary to permit immediate analysis of lists presented by the SRV and notification of case status to anxious relatives in the U.S.

We note with concern that funding constraints in the logistics of the ODP program now constitute the single largest obstacle to the reunification of separated American families whose relatives now hold current immigrant visas. For many years, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was responsible for the bottlenecks and restrictive practices that kept American citizens and permanent residents separated from their immediate families. It is now the dearth of support staff, consular and immigration officers that prolong the separation of over 27,000 Vietnamese and their American relatives who have petitioned under our immigration system for their family members. Anywhere else in the world, the beneficiary of an immediate relative immigration petition or a current preference petition could expect after an interview by a U.S. consular official to join family in the United States in a matter of months. In Vietnam, these people face years of enforced separation, because ODP lacks the logistical capacity to interview and process these holders of current immigrant visas. We deplore this state of affairs and call for expanded efforts in FY91 so that the U.S. would interview and admit all current immigrant visa holders. We recommend that 4,000 refugee numbers be used for family reunification cases of special concern where immigration petitions are not current.

We urge tripling the refugee numbers under the Orderly Departure Program, particularly for former re-education detainees and their families, namely from 12,000 per year to 36,000. We also support more generous refugee admissions for those family reunification cases who were members of groups historically persecuted in Vietnam. It is unconscionable that individuals who served five years or more in reeducation, and who remain at risk in Vietnamese society, should be asked to wait five years before they can hope to even be interviewed in ODP. Tripling the number of re-ed interviews in FY91 would at least shorten that waiting time by several years.

The agencies recommend an admission level of 15,000 for Amerasians in FY91. We also urge that program directives make it clear that admission can be granted, as necessary, to both the spouse and children of the Amerasian as well as the mother and half siblings or the primary care giver. It is not in the best interests of the successful resettlement of this vulnerable group for these young men and women to be asked to choose between a mother and siblings or a spouse and child. The recommendations for refugee admissions for FY91 (see chart on page 4) do not include Amerasians per se, as by law these persons are admitted as immigrants but eligible for refugee benefits.

Finally, while we hope that by 1991 a fair and equitable screening program will be operating in all of Southeast Asia and that the U.S. will live up to its commitment to quickly resettle 50% of those who are screened in, we note with concern the few cases that have been screened in to date. If, due to circumstances beyond our control, fewer refugees than anticipated are screened in, we urge that any unused numbers be transferred within the overall ceiling to the ODP program so that the large backlog of refugee cases can be reduced.

EASTERN EUROPE

We recommend an admissions level of 6,500 refugees from this region: 2,600 for those in Western Europe; 1,800 for those coming from Romania under the TCP program and 2,100 for visa 93 cases.

1989 saw the end of Communist rule in virtually all the countries of Eastern Europe. The dramatic changes which started in Poland in the early part of the year spread with increasing rapidity to Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Bulgaria and Romania. Perhaps now they have begun in Albania. Elections in 1990 are solidifying the process started the year before, though recent events in Bulgaria and especially in Romania raise serious doubts as to whether these countries will develop democratic governments. The U.S.. has responded by closing its refugee program to people from Poland and Hungary, and then Czechoslovakia, even though many applicants have been waiting in Western Europe for years for admission to the U.S. as refugees. Refugees from Bulgaria and Romania can still apply, but since May 3, 1990, applications are accepted only from persons with close ties to the U.S. (Priorities 1 through 5). In view of recent events, such as the repressive use of coal miners by the Romanian government to put down social unrest, we strongly urge that the program be re-opened to all applicants from Bulgaria and Romania, as it was before May 1990. We also strongly urge retaining Priority 1 through 6 eligibility for Albanians.

FY 1991 will be a year of transition. We foresee the need for sufficient refugee admission numbers to move those East Europeans approved by INS and pending departure or who registered before the cut-off dates and are pending INS interview. In addition, limited number of applicants from Bulgaria, Romania and Albania, will continue to qualify for the U.S. program.

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As refugee resettlement in this part of the world diminishes, we urge a retroactive extension of public interest parole to previously INS-rejected Czechs, Romanians and Bulgarians. Poles and Hungarians have been given that option this year and have been