The General Assembly,
Having considered the note and the report of the Secretary-General,
and the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
Aware that the majority of the refugee population are children
and women,
Bearing in mind that unaccompanied refugee minors are among
the most vulnerable refugees and require special assistance and
care,
Mindful of the fact that the ultimate solution to the plight
of those unaccompanied minors is their return to and reunification
with their families,
Noting with satisfaction that the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has developed revised Guidelines
on Refugee Children, issued in May 1994,
Noting with appreciation the efforts of the High Commissioner
to ensure the protection and assistance of refugees, including
refugee children and unaccompanied minors,
Recalling the provisions concerning the protection of refugee
minors of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1951
Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees,
1. Expresses its deep concern at the plight of unaccompanied
refugee minors and emphasizes the need for their early identification
and for timely, detailed and accurate information on their number
and whereabouts;
2. Calls upon all Governments, the Secretary-General, the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and
all other United Nations organizations and non-governmental organizations
concerned to exert the maximum effort to assist and protect refugee
minors and to expedite the return to and reunification with their
families of unaccompanied refugee minors;
3. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees and other United Nations organizations concerned
to take appropriate steps to mobilize resources commensurate to
the needs and interests of the unaccompanied refugee minors and
for their reunification with their families;
4. Condemns all acts of exploitation of the unaccompanied
refugee minors, including their use as soldiers or human shields
in armed conflict and their recruitment in military forces, and
any other acts that endanger their safety and personal security;
5. Calls upon the Secretary-General, the High Commissioner,
the Department of Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat, the
United Nations Children's Fund and other United Nations organizations
to mobilize, within existing resources, adequate assistance to
unaccompanied minors in the areas of relief, education, health
and psychological rehabilitation;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General
Assembly at its fiftieth session on the implementation of the
present resolution.
94th plenary meeting
23 December 1994