GAO provided information on the conditions of Salvadoran and Nicaraguan refugees and displaced persons in Honduras, El Salvador, and Costa Rica. GAO found that: (1) about 120,000 Central American refugees, including about 28,000 refugees from El Salvador and about 48,000 from Nicaragua, registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and were receiving food, education, and health care assistance; (2) the number of refugees not registered with UNHCR is believed to be several times greater than the number of registered refugees; (3) over 200,000 Salvadorans have been displaced within their own country; (4) camps in Costa Rica had running water and electricity, but refugee camps in Honduras and displaced persons sites in El Salvador did not; and (5) although many refugees have repatriated, continuing conflicts in the region have discouraged others from returning to their countries.

This report examines the situation of refugees and displaced persons in Central America with particular emphasis on assistance and protection issues and on the US Government's policy in the region. It is divided into five parts. The first contains an overview of refugee exoduses and movements of displaced persons within Central America and Mexico. The author suggests that the US Government has not paid sufficient attention to the problems of refugees and displaced persons in Central America, despite the fact that US contributions to UNHCR have been an essential component in the international refugee programmes in that region. The legal status of refugees and protection issues in each country are examined in the second and third parts. The author notes that Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and, recently, Guatemala and El Salvador are signatories to the UN 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol. At the same time, she observes that there are no refugee programmes in Guatemala and that the UNHCR has neither been invited to investigate the conditions of the 70,000 Salvadorians there nor to establish programmes to help them. It is pointed out that, while adhering to the principle of non-refoulement, the Mexican Government has been under pressure both internally and also from the US Government to pursue repatriation negotiations with the Guatemalan Government, and that some Salvadorian refugees may have been sent back across the border to Guatemala. The author argues that displaced persons are on the whole more vulnerable than refugee groups to repression and assault, and she notes that the situation in El Salvador has been recognized as a major humanitarian emergency by the Government. The two final parts of the report contain the conclusions and recommendations. The author's recommendations include: 1) assistance programmes should be channelled through local churches or other independent agencies; 2) the US Government should ensure that its assistance programmes be administered by social service agencies, not the military as is the case in Guatemala; 3) there should be an increased international presence in Nicaragua to exert a humanitarian influence in issues concerning Miskito Indians; 4) the US should continue to support ICRC programmes in Nicaragua; 5) US assistance programmes in El Salvador should be less politicized; and 6) the US Government should avoid allowing political and military considerations to take precedence over the protection of refugees. In conclusion, the author suggests that the restoration of peace in the region would result in voluntary repatriation.

Looking at refugee protection in Latin America, this landmark edited collection assesses what the region has achieved in recent years. It analyses Latin America’s main documents in refugee protection, evaluates the particular aspects of different regimes, and reviews their emergence, development and effect, to develop understanding of refugee protection in the region. Drawing from multidisciplinary texts from both leading academics and practitioners, this comprehensive, innovative and highly topical book adopts an analytical framework to understand and improve Latin America’s protection of refugees.

Looking at refugee protection in Latin America, this landmark edited collection assesses what the region has achieved in recent years. It analyses Latin America’s main documents in refugee protection, evaluates the particular aspects of different regimes, and reviews their emergence, development and effect, to develop understanding of refugee protection in the region. Drawing from multidisciplinary texts from both leading academics and practitioners, this comprehensive, innovative and highly topical book adopts an analytical framework to understand and improve Latin America’s protection of refugees.