Humanitarian aid: aid to uprooted people (refugees, displaced persons) in Asian and Latin American developing countries

Commissioner Bjerregaard said that the proposal was aimed at clearly defining the legal reference framework within which the Commission could provide specific assistance to displaced persons in Asia and Latin America. This was designed to help those who had had to leave their country of origin as a result of conflict and internal troubles and who were in need of targeted aid in order to be able to live independently and to integrate themselves into the social and professional life of the host or repatriation country. The Commission’s proposal aimed to set up a vast network of cooperation partners, UN agencies, other international organisations, government bodies and regional associations; it was also necessary to create the flexibility needed to improve those situations that were in a state of perpetual change and to confront the dangers and tensions that existed in order to help re-establish peace in the countries concerned. This was why the Commission was prepared to accept many of the amendments tabled by the Committee on Development and Cooperation.