19314: (Chamberlain) U.N. urges Haiti's neighbours to take in refugees (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

    GENEVA, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The United Nations refugee agency called on
Haiti's neighbours on Friday to grant asylum to refugees fleeing the
country as it slides further into chaos.
     Nearly 400 Haitians have fled their homeland and sought asylum in the
Dominican Republic (some 300), Jamaica (62) and Cuba (30) since the
violence began in early February, according to the U.N. High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR).
     UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond declined to comment on a U.S. Coast Guard
statement on Thursday that it was holding some 500 Haitian migrants on
cutters at sea.
     Rebels seeking to overthrow Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
control half of the Caribbean nation and threaten to attack the capital. At
least 60 people have died in the revolt.
     "The agency is extremely concerned that should the situation in Haiti
continue to deteriorate, more people will flee," the UNHCR said in a
statement.
     Hope Hanlan, its director for the Americas, said that UNHCR expected
states to grant protection to people forced to flee, in line with their
obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention.
     "Obviously not everyone who leaves a country is a refugee, but those
who are forced to flee must have access to international protection," she
said.
     The U.N. refugee agency was coordinating contingency plans with
neighbouring states in case of a major outflow. It has deployed additional
staff in the past two weeks, including a regional emergency coordinator
based in the Dominican Republic.