Order Code IB89150
CRS Issue Brief for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Refugee Assistance in the Foreign Aid Bill: Problems
and Prospects
Updated April 17, 2001
Lois B. McHugh
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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CONTENTS
SUMMARY
MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
Funding for Refugee Assistance
Refugee Admissions
Refugee Assistance
Refugees to Israel
International Organizations
Administration
Special Funding for Refugee Emergencies
Budget Pressures on the Migration and Refugee Assistance Account
Changing Humanitarian Needs
The Changing Nature of Refugee Situations
The Debate in Congress
Refugee Admissions
Finding Funds for Emergency Assistance
Improving the Efficiency of International Refugee Programs
Addressing the Causes of Refugee Flight
LEGISLATION

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Refugee Assistance in the Foreign Aid Bill: Problems and Prospects
SUMMARY
The United States is the largest national
tic disputes. These new conditions have led to
contributor to international humanitarian
a change in the nature of refugee emergencies
assistance programs for refugees. Tradition-
and changes in the types of programs which
ally, we contribute to refugee appeals both
the United States and the international com-
because of our wish to alleviate the suffering
munity provide for refugees and other people
of innocent victims and out of concern that
forced to flee their homes, as well as a tremen-
refugee flows can lead to instability in coun-
dous increase in the number of people needing
tries or regions important to U.S. foreign
assistance. All these changes have led to
policy interests. The United States is also the
continuing debate between the Administration
largest resettlement country, resettling refu-
and the Congress and within the Congress.
gees who cannot return to their homes and
qualify to be resettled in the United States.
Because the MRA is part of the foreign
The money for humanitarian assistance and
aid appropriation, and because humanitarian
some of the costs of resettlement in the United
emergencies are growing in number, complex-
States is authorized in the Migration and
ity, and size, the MRA faces enormous budget
Refugee Account (MRA) of the Department of
pressures, both from traditional foreign assis-
State Authorization bill and appropriated in
tance programs and from new emerging na-
the Foreign Assistance Appropriations bill.
tional priorities. While refugee assistance
(The overwhelming bulk of assistance for
enjoys considerable support, Congress and the
refugees who resettle in the United States is
Administration face the difficult task of fund-
authorized and appropriated in the Labor,
ing humanitarian needs within a constrained
HHS, legislation.) This issue brief discusses
budget. For the last several years, the appro-
the size of the U.S. international refugee
priation for the MRA account has remained at
assistance budget and its allocation between
about $650 million.
humanitarian assistance and admissions.
The President requested $658.212 million
With the end of the Cold War, the U.S.
for FY2001. P.L. 106-429, approved by the
refugee policy began to evolve from its nearly
House and Senate on October 25, appropri-
exclusive anti-communist focus to a new focus
ated $700 million for the MRA and $15 million
that is still emerging. At the same time, na-
for the Emergency Refugee and Migration
tions no longer constrained by superpower
assistance (ERMA).
politics began to implode with internal domes-
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
The President has requested $715 million for Migration and Refugee Assistance
account (MRA) and $15 million for the Emergency Refugee and Migration account (ERMA)
for FY2002. P.L. 106-429, as passed by the House and Senate on October 25, appropriates
$700 million for the MRA and $15 million for ERMA for FY2001. In addition, $21 million,
which was appropriated in FY2000, became available after September 30, 2000.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
Two major factors influence U.S. decisions to aid refugees: (1) an American bipartisan
tradition of humanitarian concern for suffering people, and (2) a concern that refugee flows
can lead to instability in countries important to U.S. foreign policy. This assistance takes the
form of aid to refugees in their countries of asylum and admission to the United States for
some refugees of special concern.
Funding for Refugee Assistance
The refugee and migration account is authorized in the legislation governing the
Department of State and appropriated in the Foreign Assistance Appropriation legislation.
(In addition, under the provisions of the Refugee Act of 1980, the House and Senate Judiciary
Committees provide oversight of refugee admissions and assistance through a required annual
consultation with the Administration.) The migration and refugee account includes five major
components:
Refugee Admissions. This includes the costs of screening and processing refugees
for admission to the United States, medical examinations, language training, cultural
orientation, care and maintenance until they arrive, and transportation loans for travel to the
United States. It also includes reception and placement grants to cover initial resettlement
in the United States. The bulk of the domestic costs of refugee resettlement in the United
States is appropriated in the Health and Human Services agency authorization and
appropriation legislation. For information on refugee admissions costs and appropriations,
see CRS Report 98-668, Refugee Admissions and Resettlement Policy: Facts and Issues.
Refugee Assistance. Aid to refugees consists almost entirely of contributions to
international organizations and to private voluntary organizations working under the direction
of such organizations in caring for refugees outside the United States. A small amount,
approximately 3%, is provided directly to private voluntary organizations or to governments
of first asylum countries. The primary international agencies include the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The United States also contributes to the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a private international humanitarian agency that acts
as an intermediary in situations of armed conflict.
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Refugees to Israel. The United States provides funding through a grant to the
United Israel Appeal to help finance the resettlement of Jewish refugees in Israel.
International Organizations. The United States also contributes to the regular
non-emergency budgets of the Intergovernmental Organization for Migration and the ICRC.
Unlike other international organizations, the regular budgets of these refugee agencies are
paid out of the Migration and Refugee Assistance account rather than out of the International
Organization and Programs account.
Administration. This category includes the costs of personnel and operating expenses
for the State Department Bureau of Refugee Programs.
Table 1 shows amounts appropriated and how it was allocated for the last few years.
Table 1. Migration and Refugee Assistance
(thousands of $)
FY2001
FY1997
FY1998
FY1999
FY2000
Estimate
Refugee Admissions
$84,000
$104,260
$142,360*
$102,915
$125,900
Refugee Assistance
East Asia
20,165
17,675
18,456
14,485
27,600
Africa
129,309
130,757
144,235
177,127
180,900
Near East
95,236
93,541
97,963
108,250
99,147
South Asia
27,387
26,315
27,475
33,074
35,050
W. Hemisphere
11,400
14,200
14,713
16,486
13,626
Europe
124,283
109,562
310,083*
171,329
104,453
Multiregional Activities
66,219
63,588
67,215
71,805
59,824
Subtotal
474,000
455,640
680,140
592,557
520,600
Other Activities
Refugees to Israel
80,000
80,000
70,000
60,000
*60,000
Administration
12,000
12,788
13,4701
14,650
14,500
Total
$650,000
$650,384
$905,970
$770,121
$721,000
**
* P.L. 106-31, the FY1999 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, appropriated $266 million
for this account to be available until September 30, 2000. Of this amount, $225.5 million was
allocated to assistance in the regions, $40 million to resettlement in the United States, and $0.5
million to administrative expenses. In FY1999, $97.9 million was obligated and $166.6 million
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was carried forward to FY2000. The Supplemental Appropriation is discussed in CRS Report
RL30083 by Larry Nowels.
**This amount does not include $21 million in FY2000 expenditures which was deferred by Congress
until after September 30, 2000. It is included in the FY2001 figures. For FY2002, the
Administration has requested $715 million for the Migration and Refugee Assistance Account
(MRA).
The amounts in the table above do not constitute all the U.S. funds dedicated to
responding to humanitarian emergencies, however. In addition, the USAID Food For Peace
Program (Title II) and Bureau for Humanitarian Response/Office of Foreign Disaster
Response provide funds for humanitarian emergencies. In FY2001, Congress appropriated
$837 million and $216.05 million, respectively, for these programs. The Department of
Defense also provides emergency humanitarian assistance. In FY2001, the DOD
humanitarian assistance account received a $55.9 million appropriation.
Special Funding for Refugee Emergencies
Because refugee emergencies occur at frequent but unpredictable intervals, the United
States established the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance account (ERMA) in
1962. This account is a no year account which may be drawn upon at the President’s
discretion without fiscal year limitations. It is replenished through additional appropriations
as necessary. The President must report the drawdown of this fund to Congress. Table 2
shows appropriations for, and drawdowns in, ERMA in response to refugee emergencies in
recent years. The appropriation for FY2001 was $15 million and the FY2002 request is also
$15 million.
Table 2. ERMA Appropriations and Drawdown
(millions of $)
Fiscal
Year
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
Approp
49.3
79.3
50.0
50.0
50.0
50.0
195.0*
12.5
15.0
Draw-
58.4
81.0
35.0
22.0
53.0
44.9
85.0
44.6
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down
* P.L. 106-31 appropriated an additional $165 million for ERMA for FY1999 in response to the
Kosovo emergency. This is in addition to the $30 million appropriated in the regular
appropriation.
Budget Pressures on the Migration
and Refugee Assistance Account
After the end of the Cold War, refugee expenditures grew substantially. The Refugee
and Migration budget grew from $449.7 million in FY1990 to nearly $671 million in FY1996,
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then leveled out at $650 million for several years after that. At the same time, special
appropriations for refugee emergencies and expenditures for humanitarian programs in other
accounts grew. Refugee activities in the Balkans have forced the account to grow
substantially since 1999. Both Congress and the President have attempted to keep refugee
expenditures in the foreign aid budget static because of budget pressures to reduce the entire
International Affairs budget function (function 150), of which refugee assistance is a part, and
other new or growing emphases in the foreign aid program. Refugee needs in general are
difficult to predict and the amount needed for refugee emergencies often cannot be predicted.
Changing Humanitarian Needs
While budget pressures have squeezed the size of the migration and refugee account, the
worldwide refugee situation has put donor nations under increasing pressure to provide more
funds. The number of refugees in camps around the world increased steadily after the end of
the Cold War, straining the regular budgets of the agencies that assist them. But the numbers
displaced by warfare, or other manmade disasters within their own countries grew even more.
These internally displaced persons (IDPs), such as those in Sierra Leon, Bosnia, Chechnya,
or Afghanistan, currently outnumber traditional refugees. There is no good estimate of the
number of refugees and IDPs worldwide. According to the 1999 Statistical Overview
released in July 2000 by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number
of people of concern to the UNHCR declined from a record 27 million in 1995 to 22.3
million by December 1999. This included 11.7 million refugees (persons who have fled from
their country), 2.5 million returnees (people returning to their country), 5.4 million persons
internally displaced within their country and 1.2 million asylum seekers. UNHCR estimates
that an additional 25 million are displaced from their homes, with the majority receiving little
or no international assistance for political or other reasons. The number of refugees and
displaced persons in Africa numbered 20,000 in 1989. Today there are more than 6.2 million
refugees, IDPs and returnees in Africa. Much of the increase in numbers of refugees and
displaced is blamed on the rise in ethnic conflict unleashed after years of suppression during
the Cold War.
In addition to those fleeing their homes, UNHCR helps many refugee populations to
return to their homes. As of the end of 1999, 2.5 million refugees and 1.4 million IDPs have
returned home and are being assisted by UNHCR. These repatriations have often required
follow-on rehabilitation of agricultural land and infrastructure to ensure that the refugees can
survive in homelands devastated by war. Although in the long run repatriation is the best and
least expensive solution, in the short run it is often more expensive than maintaining refugees
in camps. Additional complications make the expense even higher. For example, between
November 1996 and January 1997, warfare around and in the camps where Rwandan refugees
were sheltered in Zaire, attempts to drive them from the camps by various factions, periods
of prohibited contact with the aid agencies, and the need to return many of them quickly to
Rwanda all contributed to a required UNHCR need for $114 million for repatriation and
reintegration of refugees to Rwanda alone for 1997. This amount did not include the many
millions more that are spent by other agencies such as U.N. Development Program, UNICEF,
and the World Health Organization for activities needed to rehabilitate both the nations and
the people who have been victims of war. In many recent cases, UNHCR has been urged to
repatriate refugees in a short period of time so that they can participate in elections in their
homeland. At the same time, refugees remaining in exile must be offered care and support
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to ensure that they are not coerced into returning to a situation where their lives will be
endangered.
Changing circumstances in refugee producing countries have also changed the
international response. Increasingly, refugee problems are part of longstanding political
disagreements within countries rather than between nations. Resolving them may require the
unified action of many governments, if not the entire U.N. Security Council, touching on the
limits of a sovereign government to repress or harm its own citizens. Such unanimity is
difficult and often takes years to achieve. In the interim, humanitarian suffering and
destruction continues in the affected countries. While the issues fester, humanitarian
assistance is often the only course which can be agreed upon. But it cannot prevent civilian
casualties, and often must be delivered with the assistance of military forces. These and other
factors have driven up the cost and reduced the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance.
The total budget of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) tripled in the
early 1990s as a result of increased humanitarian situations of increased complexity. The
2001 budget was set at $917.5 million in December 2000. Raising money in a timely fashion
has become increasingly difficult for the international agencies, both for humanitarian
assistance programs and for repatriation programs. On May 10, 2000, UNHCR announced
a cash availability crisis, noting that the cash on hand to help refugees was the lowest it has
been in ten years. At that time, only $346 million of the $956 million needed for Calendar
2000 obligations had been donated. As of September 1, 2000, only $629 million had been
contributed. By December 1, UNHCR had been forced to borrow $40 million of the $50
million in the working capital fund (emergency fund) due to late contributions. Since many
countries earmark their funds for specific programs, the shortages are not spread evenly to
all the humanitarian emergencies or even to all programs in a country. Other disaster agencies
have similar patterns of inequality. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has expressed
concern that the continuing failure of donors to meet the funding needs of the humanitarian
aid programs means that UNHCR has not been able to meet the very real needs of refugees,
returnees, and IDPs. The high level of contributions of rich nations to the Kosovo crisis and
lack of contributions to African crises gives the impression of a double standard by U.N.
members. Nearly 95% of the total contributions to the UNHCR budget come from 14
industrialized countries and the European Commission. The U.S. contribution to UNHCR
during calendar 2000 was $239 million as of December 22, according to UNHCR, or about
30% of all contributions.
The Changing Nature of Refugee Situations
In the last few years, and particularly since the end of the Cold War and the dissolution
of the Soviet Union, refugee situations have become more complicated and more dangerous
for international aid workers. When the refugee organizations were established in the 1950s
and 1960s, their mandates were fairly specific and defined refugees as persons who fled their
country in response to persecution on the basis of race, religion, ethnic or social group, or
political opinion. While refugee situations did not always conform to these definitions, they
usually could be accommodated within the mandates of the humanitarian relief agencies.
Refugee emergencies were also hidden from public view. There was little news coverage of
the hardships faced by refugees in their exile. Refugee assistance was also provided in a
relatively safe setting because humanitarian assistance was provided with the agreement of
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the government involved. Within the last decade and a half, and particularly with the end of
the Cold War, new kinds of humanitarian situations have become increasingly common and
in fact make up the bulk of international disaster situations. In addition, the long, universally
agreed doctrine that nations should not meddle in the internal affairs of other countries, unless
invited to do so, began to be questioned. This placed humanitarian assistance workers into
increasingly dangerous situations and has led to an increased military role for the United
Nations. All of this has increased the cost of providing humanitarian assistance, only part of
which is provided by the refugee agencies discussed in this issue brief. These new situations
include:
1. Refugees fleeing to areas that are also at war. Rwanda/Burundi/Democratic Republic
of Congo are examples of this. Refugee and humanitarian aid workers attempting to help
these victims of war have themselves become victims of conflict.
2. People driven from their homes by warfare but not crossing an international border
and thus not becoming “convention” refugees. For decades these IDPs have suffered from
lack of international attention even though their compatriots who fled to another country
received humanitarian aid as refugees. Examples of this situation today include Afghanistan,
the Balkans, Chechnya, Sudan, and Sierra Leone. One response to the growing numbers of
people in this type of situation has been a broadening of the UNHCR mandate or area of
responsibility. In October 1992, UNHCR donor nations approved an expansion of the
UNHCR role to include assistance to the millions of people displaced within their own
countries by war and/or famine resulting from war. This change made UNHCR responsible
for nearly twice as many needy people almost overnight, although in fact the agency had been
assisting many of them previously with informal donor support. In other cases, such as the
current situation in Colombia and Afghanistan, people are prevented from fleeing warfare
because surrounding countries close their borders and UNHCR and other humanitarian
agencies must assist them in extremely difficult and dangerous situations. Former U.S.
Ambassador to the United Nations Holbrook made the plight of IDPs a special concern of his.
Both the U.N. Secretary General and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees have also
called for increased attention to IDPs.
3. Persons in need due to a combination of a refugee emergency and a natural disaster,
which may be exacerbated by warfare. The drought in Ethiopia/Eritrea while warfare
continued and the current drought in conflict areas of Afghanistan are examples of this.
Another example are farmers who cannot farm because of warfare or minefields, leading to
food shortages. The needs of these people have been served by the international agencies that
respond to natural disasters and by the refugee relief agencies, as well as by the humanitarian
agencies, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, which respond to civil
conflict situations. In response to the desperate needs of these people, problems of program
overlap among the international agencies and the lack of clear mandate by any one agency to
help, the United Nations Secretary General created the U.N. Department of Humanitarian
Affairs in December 1991. Although it was somewhat successful in coordinating the
international response to all disasters, either manmade or natural, U.N. Secretary-General
Annan abolished it under his 1997 reorganization plan and established instead a U.N.
Emergency Relief Coordinator (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs or
OCHA) within his own office, thereby raising the level of attention paid to humanitarian
assistance.
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4. Humanitarian emergencies occurring in countries without a government. In Somalia
and Liberia, for example, it was difficult for the relief agencies to get assistance to victims of
civil war because there was no government. Issues such as visas, shipping clearance, use of
roads and airport facilities, water, and power could not be addressed centrally. Nor could the
issues of protection of aid workers or aid supplies. In addition, the political factions at war
insisted on separate negotiations in all facets of providing assistance. In both countries, the
international community attempted to restore order through the introduction of foreign
military forces, a U.N. force in Somalia, and a regional African force in Liberia.
5. Civil wars in which civilians and the humanitarian agencies who try to help them are
specifically attacked in order to change the outcome of the war. Humanitarian aid personnel
have been the targets of various factions in many other countries and have become an area
of increasing concern to the United Nations. Between January 1, 1992, and September 18,
2000, 198 civilian U.N. employees were killed. In the last ten years, 51 World Food Program
employees alone have been killed. Since the beginning of the 90's, 18 UNHCR staff have
been killed in deliberate, premeditated and armed attacks and dozens more have been
wounded. If UNHCR contractors from non governmental agencies are included, the numbers
are much higher. The recent U.N. response has been to provide U.N. peacekeeping forces to
assist in providing humanitarian aid and protecting aid workers. Deputy U.N. Secretary-
General Louise Frechette called on governments to address these deaths in the following
ways: conduct vigorous investigations and punish the guilty, ratify the two international
conventions which address protection of international personnel, provide additional funding
to international agencies specifically for improved security, and use whatever government
influence is available to bring irregular forces under better control and discipline. In a recent
report, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan calls for the expenditure of $30 million per year
to protect civilian staff in conflict situations. In his report, he states that there are only 9
professionals responsible for managing a security system for 70,000 staff and dependents at
150 duty stations. He recommends the appointment of a full time security coordinator and
changes in the current method of funding security officers.
6. Repatriation of refugees to a homeland that has been devastated by war and dotted
with land mines. International donors have recognized the need to provide rehabilitation to
these countries as well as the usual short-term repatriation assistance, but the rehabilitation
funding has not always been made available. This assistance may include help in the election
of a new government, mine-clearing, establishment of banking and commercial facilities, and
other non-traditional humanitarian assistance programs. Kosovo and East Timor are the most
recent examples. Cambodia, Mozambique, Angola, Afghanistan, and El Salvador can be
included as well. This rehabilitation often includes the involvement of foreign military
personnel and civil servants, as well as humanitarian assistance personnel and often continues
for years. UNHCR has also been required to return refugees involuntarily to countries where
they may still face danger because the asylum country forces them back across the border.
7. Growing attempts to replace humanitarian agencies with military humanitarian
assistance as in Kosovo. Former UNHCR Ogata expressed concern over attempts to bypass
humanitarian agencies in high visibility crises with military or other newly created
governmental entities. She noted that military involvement has sometimes undermined
coordination among civilian humanitarian agencies and may make refugees parties to the
conflict in the eyes of combatants. U.N. Secretary General Annan has also cautioned against
mixing military and humanitarian actions. He stress that no government should fear that
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accepting humanitarian aid will lead to military intervention. Military forces in humanitarian
assistance emergencies raise other thorny issues, such as how much force they should use, and
whom or what they should protect: refugees, humanitarian aid workers, or pallets of aid
supplies?
The Debate in Congress
The debate over the refugee budget in the 106th Congress included both the funding
issues facing all the programs in the foreign aid account and the policy differences that are
arising both between the Administration and the Congress and within the Republican majority
over U.S. refugee policy. What direction the Bush Administration will take is still unclear,
but differences within the Republican majority in Congress continue.
Refugee Admissions
The number of refugee admitted to the United States for resettlement is set every year
in consultation between the Administration and Congress. This is a requirement of the
Refugee Act of 1979. The initial costs of resettling refugees in the United States will
comprise about 20% of the proposed FY2001 Migration and Refugee Account. The number
of refugees admitted dropped during the Clinton Administration from 113,000 admitted in
FY1994 to 70,000 in FY1997. The Clinton Administration expected to continue these
reductions based on reduced admissions from the former Soviet Union and Southeast Asia
(which once accounted for about 80% of U.S. admissions, but were reduced to about 50%
in FY1997 and less than 15% in FY2000). Refugees located in camps throughout Southeast
Asia that the United States pledged to accept under the Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA,
a 1989 international agreement to address the refugee crisis in Southeast Asia), have mostly
been admitted. Most of the Amerasians and former political prisoners have been admitted to
the United States. The number of Soviet Jews and Evangelicals admitted also continues to
fall. Some members of Congress do not support this reduction in refugee admissions. The
number was raised to 83,000 for FY1998 largely at the urging of Congress. Because of the
Kosovo emergency, the actual number admitted in FY1998 was 85,000. (The FY1999 ceiling
was raised in mid year to 91,000 to include Kosovars who were added on an emergency basis
and the FY2000 admission level of 90,000 continues to reflect that resettlement need.) For
2001, the Administration is requesting the admission of 80,000 refugees. In addition, the
number of African refugees admitted has grown from 7,000 in FY1998 to a proposed 20,000
in FY2001.
During the 104th Congress, Members of Congress who did not agree with U.S. policy
on Southeast Asians negotiated an agreement with the Administration to rescreen some of the
Vietnamese who have been determined not to be refugees and returned to Vietnam. This
rescreening program, the Resettlement Opportunity for Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR),
began on April 1, 1996. In the 105th Congress, the conference report on the Foreign
Relations Authorization Bill (H.R. 1757) contained language which prohibited the use of U.S.
funds to assist the involuntary return of persons to a country where they fear persecution.
Committee report language stated that the House International Relations Committee expected
the Department of State to continue to rescreen those Vietnamese eligible for resettlement
in the United States. The language became part of the Omnibus Appropriations law (P.L.
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105-277). P.L. 106-113 continued this restriction and establishes guidelines and procedures
for the continuing admission of Vietnamese to the United States. The Administration calls
for the admission of a total of 6,000 from East Asia in FY2001.
P.L. 106-554 continued the so-called Lautenberg amendment until October 1, 2000. This
provision gives special consideration for admission to the United States as refugees to Jews
and some Christian groups from the former Soviet Union and some religious groups from
Vietnam. The current extension of this 10-year-old provision is in the Senate Health and
Human Services appropriation bill. The FY2001 admission number for refugees from the
former Soviet Union is 17,000.
P.L. 104-208, the Omnibus Appropriation Act of 1997, broadened the definition of a
refugee under U.S. law to include persons who have been forced to abort a pregnancy,
undergo involuntary sterilization, or who have been persecuted for refusal to undergo such
a procedure. This provision was directed toward the birth control policy of the Chinese
government. The numbers to be admitted under this provision are limited to 1,000 in any
fiscal year. P.L. 106-113 requires that the Secretary of State and the Attorney General
establish a task force to set eligibility criteria for women seeking refugee status based on
gender related persecution.
P.L. 106-386, a law addressing problems of trafficking women into the United States,
amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow the Attorney General to grant up to
5,000 non-immigrant visas per year to certain victims of severe forms of trafficking who are
in the United States and who would face retribution or other harm if removed from the United
States. It also provides up to 10,000 visas for victims of domestic violence, material
witnesses, and for other humanitarian purposes. The Act allows them to adjust to lawful
permanent resident status those who have remained of good moral character and who have
assisted in trafficking investigations or prosecutions.
(For information on refugee admissions policy, see CRS Report 98-668, Refugee
Admissions and Resettlement Policy: Facts and Issues. For information on admission issues
considered during the 106th Congress, see CRS Report RS20836, Immigration Legislation
in the 106th Congress. For information on trafficking, see CRS Report RL30545, Trafficking
in Women and Children: The U.S. and International Response.)
Finding Funds for Emergency Assistance
The cost of responding to refugee and humanitarian emergencies has risen. Pressure on
the Foreign Affairs function, the 150 account, caused by rising emergency costs, have led to
concerns about the bilateral development assistance programs. In the last few years, many
of the private voluntary agencies working in the development field, as well as U.N. and U.S.
development specialists have expressed concern that the rising costs of emergency assistance
are reducing the amount of money available for development assistance.
Several attempts have been made to address the growing need for refugee assistance and
the anticipated growth in refugee repatriation needs without further draining the development
aid accounts. In response to the need to help Kurdish refugees displaced after the Persian
Gulf War, Congress transferred interest on money from the Persian Gulf Regional Defense
Fund and Defense Cooperation Account, two funds established to channel contributions from
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other countries to Iraqi war expenses. A supplemental appropriations covered the costs of
responding to the Rwanda emergencies by the Department of Defense ($170 million),
Department of State ($30 million), and USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance ($20
million). Supplemental legislation enacted in the Spring of 1999 (P.L. 106-31) reimbursed
the agencies and provided new funding for aid both in Central America and the Caribbean for
natural disaster response and to pay for humanitarian assistance to Kosovo. The
Administration requested a FY2000 supplemental to meet the continuing needs in Kosovo.
For information and discussion of the FY1999 Supplemental, see CRS Report RL30083, by
Larry Nowels.
Although UNHCR receives donations from a large number of governments, inter-
governmental organizations, private voluntary agencies and individuals, nearly 95% of the
funds contributed come from 15 donors...fourteen governments and the European
Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO). According to UNHCR, between 1994 and 1998,
the United States provided 26% of the contributions, followed by ECHO and Japan. The
1999 U.S. contribution totaled about 30%. During 1999, following widespread publicity
about events in Kosovo and E. Timor, UNHCR estimates that it received nearly $30 million
in private contributions, compared to $11.5 million in 1998. While UNHCR continues to
encourage contributions from additional governments, the small number of donors, in addition
to earmarking contributions for particular refugee situations or programs, has led to problems
funding refugee emergencies. To address these concerns, UNHCR began requesting funds
for a new Operational Reserve fund equal to 10% of the program budget. It should be used
to cover unanticipated emergencies, planning repatriation programs, unanticipated cost
increases, or modification of current programs. However, due to shortfalls in contributions
during 2000, $40 million of the $50 million was used for regular program needs during 2000.
Improving the Efficiency of International Refugee Programs
Meeting the growing need for humanitarian assistance to refugees in other countries
within a constrained budget can also be helped by improving the effectiveness and efficiency
of international refugee organizations. The last two administrations emphasized increased
efficiency in the U.N. refugee agencies. Consolidation of humanitarian assistance programs
has been one of the Department of State’s suggestions for U.N. reform. In the United
Nations, Secretary-General Annan included the consolidation and reorganization of U.N.
humanitarian agencies, abolition of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs, and other budget
saving steps in his July 1997 reform proposal and the General Assembly accepted the change.
Under the new organization of U.N. humanitarian assistance, the U.N. Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issues consolidated appeals for the major
humanitarian emergencies. These appeals simplify donations and eliminate overlap and
competition among the agencies included such as UNHCR, UNICEF, World Food Program,
and World Health Organization. Nonetheless, UNHCR Ogata noted in the preface to the
agency’s most recent report on the state of the world’s refugees that no matter how well
managed and coordinated humanitarian agencies may become, they cannot end civil wars,
require nations to respect human rights, or bring a halt to deliberate displacement of civilians.
That requires the political will of the international community. UNHCR has also approached
the information technology industry to add its talents and tools to help refugees. During the
Kosovo crisis, UNHCR received assistance from Microsoft, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard,
Canon, Kingston Technology, Security World Ltd, and ScreenCheck B.V. in the development
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of a computerized refugee registration and documentation kit. Currently, the team is adapting
this kit to other refugee situations.
Addressing the Causes of Refugee Flight
The overall cause of refugee flight is violation of the human rights of certain people,
persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or
political opinion. In most cases, however, many believe the underlying cause of refugee flight
is more basic: poverty, underdevelopment, overpopulation, and environmental degradation.
There is widespread agreement that refugee flows are best addressed by being prevented. The
President created the new position of Under Secretary for Global Affairs to allow the
Department of State to focus more attention on the underlying causes of refugee flight. The
Administration also reorganized the Bureau of Refugee Programs to include population and
migration, in order to consolidate all departmental responsibility for these related matters.
The Office of Transition Initiative was also created as a part of a reorganized USAID
humanitarian response entity. It provides assistance to countries recovering from disasters
in moving toward self government and sustained development.
LEGISLATION
P.L. 106-429 (H.R. 5526 enacted by reference-Callahan)
Foreign Operations Appropriation bill. Appropriates $700 million for Migration and
Refugee Account and $15 million for the Emergency Refugee and Migration Account. Of this
amount, $60 million is earmarked for refugee from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
resettling in Israel. Original bill reported from House International Relations Committee on
July 10. (H.Rept. 106-720). Passed House, July 13 by a vote of 239-185. Conference report
adopted by the House on October 25 by a vote of 307 to 101 and by the Senate on October
25. Signed into law on November 6, 2000.
H.Res. 577 (Hall)
Resolution to honor the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for
its role as a protector of the world’s refugees, to celebrate UNHCR’s 50th anniversary, and
to praise the High Commissioner Ogata for her work with UNHCR for the past ten years.
Introduced September 14, 2000. Agreed to under suspension of rules by voice vote on
October 10, 2000.
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