733 ংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ত্রয়োদশ খন্ড শিরোনাম সূত্র তারিখ পূর্ব বাংলা থেকে আগত শরণার্থদিগকে জরুরী জাতিসংঘ ডকুমেন্টস ১৯ মে, ১৯৭১ সাহায্যের জন্য জাতিসংঘ মহাসচিবের আবেদন U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL'S APPEAL FOR EMERGENCY HELP TO REFUGEES FROM EAST BENGAL ON MAY 19,1971 The following is the text of the appeal of U.N. Secretary-General U-Thant for emergency assistance to refugees from East Bengal in India released on May 19, 1971.
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The international community has been seriously concerned at the plight of the sizable and continuing influx of refugees including a large proportion of women and children from East Pakistan into adjacent states of India. I fully share this concern. Mindful that one of the purposes of the United Nations is to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of a humanitarian character, I am convinced that the United Nations and its family of Organizations have an important role to play in alleviating the serious hardship and suffering which these refugees are undergoing. In order to ensure a speedy and coordinated response to appeals for assistance addressed by the Government of India to me and to various United Nations Agencies, I decided following discussions with the Executive heads of the various agencies and programes within the United Nations system that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees dispatched a three-man team led by his deputy in order to assess the nature and magnitude of the needs of these refugees and to discuss with the Indian Government the modalities of assistance from the United Nations system. The High Commissioner also established standing consultative machinery comprising his office and the United Nations agencies and programmes directly concerned in order to assist him in these tasks. While in view of the fluid situation, it is not possible at this stage to assess with accuracy the total number of refugees involved there is conclusive evidence of the presence of very large numbers of people from East Pakistan in the neighboring states of India who are in immediate need of assistance. 1 earnestly hope that these unfortunate people will be voluntarily repatriated at the earliest possible time. It is evident, however, that pending such repatriation massive external assistance will be required on an emergency basis. The Indian Government's preliminary estimates indicate that such assistance might be of the order of Dollars 175 million for the next six months for food, clothing, shelter, medical supplies and other essential relief items. Several organizations of the United Nations system have already initiated action within their limited resources to provide all possible emergency relief for the afflicted people. At the same time it is clear that these resources will fall far short of the level and scope of the needs to be met,
