Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 94 Part 3.djvu/1000

 94 STAT. 3644 Feb. 26, 1980

CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—FEB. 26, 1980 K H M E R REFUGEES—U.N. H U M A N I T A R I A N ASSISTANCE

[S. Con. Res. 72]

Whereas the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand has demonstrated to the world its humanitarian convictions by opening its borders and providing asylum and assistance to the Khmer people who have been victims of war, famine, and oppression in Kampuchea; Whereas the international community owes a great debt of gratitude to the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand for its compassionate actions on behalf of the Khmer people; Whereas hundreds of thousands of Khmer have fled their homes in Kampuchea seeking security, food, and medical assistance; Whereas many of these refugees have settled temporarily in encampments along the border between Thailand and Kampuchea where food, water, and medical care have been made available to them; Whereas the security of the refugees in these encampments is continually threatened because of the unrest and the lack of an international presence in that border area; Whereas armed conflict within these encampments has forced many refugees, often in fragile physical condition, to flee in fear for their physical safety; Whereas food which is being provided by international organizations for humanitarian relief to refugees in these encampments may not be reaching those with the greatest need because of a lack of supervision of its distribution; Whereas the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand has requested the United Nations to provide international observers in the area of the border between Thailand and Kampuchea, but no action has been taken; and Whereas the international community, acting through the United Nations, has an obligation to provide such assistance to the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand as may be necessary in support of its efforts on behalf of the Khmer people: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that the President, acting through the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, should request the United Nations to establish under its auspices an international presence in the encampments of Khmer refugees along the border between the Kingdom of Thailand and Kampuchea for the purposes of— (1) promoting security and stability for the refugees in encampments along the border between Thailand and Kampuchea; (2) overseeing the distribution of food and water to insure that they are equitably distributed to those refugees for whom they are intended; (3) demonstrating that the assistance which is being provided to refugees in such encampments by the United Nations and other international agencies is solely for humanitarian purposes; and (4) encouraging all nations in the region to respect the use of the border area between Thailand and Kampuchea as a sanctuary for those Khmer who are in need of humanitarian assistance. SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the President. Agreed to February, 26, 1980.

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