U.N. High Commission on Refugees

The need for the U.N. High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) is inarguable. The numerous wars across the planet add to the grief of the natural disasters a living planet is already prone to. The basic philosophy of the United Nations is that while hurricanes and earthquakes cannot be prevented, war can. The greatest value of the UNHCR lay therefore in its efforts to prevent the additional wars that result from wars. Perhaps the greatest lesson learned from World War II is that it, and all that Adolf Hitler wrought, were caused by the inconclusive settlement of World War I. The hardship brought upon the German people fostered a resentment and desire for vengeance which could have been avoided. This national mood, though wrong, that made another war so attractive. The refugee who survives a war rarely stops at mere survival but goes on to seek restoration, redress, repayment, and revenge. If these hardships can be alleviated, then the survivors' attitude can be made more forgiving. If the refugees can be peacefully repatriated, then they can actually work for the benefit of their whole country, for themselves as well as those who wronged them.

The United Nations determined in 1949 to address the refugee problem. Compared to today, what problems refugees presented then would seem minor, but then they were considered severe. The problems and difficulties of refugees since have simply become worse every year. The United Nations created its High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) and

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ikveren. The inhabitants of the camp were facing a more immediate threat than starvation: disease. The 150,00 refugees were seeing 50 or more of their elderly and infants die each day, and in the cold rocky northern soil they were underequipped for the task of burying all the bodies. Cholera was imminent. They asked for shovels, figuring about 30,000 should be adequate to their needs. Their call was answered with thousands of handles, but no iron spade or pick was attached to wield against the rocky ground. The cholera epidemic did not happen, as the refugees quietly slipped back into Northern Iraq when it was again safe. Ironically, many of the problems here were also present in the Sudan work six years earlier. As John Telford noted, "The most deadly killer in any humanitarian emergency is not dehydration, measles, malnutrition, or the weather, it is bad management." To remain effective, the UNHCR will need to follow the recommendations of the evaluations of both the Sudanese and Iraqi emergencies. Problems the authors of the evaluation found were poor support, preparedness, and coordination, low motivation, bad communication, and unclear policy to be implemented. All of this can summarized in a basic lack of preparation

Category: History - U