U.N. Body Asks for Another Year to Study Arab Refugee Problem

The Palestine Conciliation Commission declared today it “warmly endorses” the conclusions of its special Middle East representative, Dr. Joseph E. Johnson, who has proposed that the PCC be given another year in which to determine whether it is possible to reach a solution of the Arab refugee problem.

The Commission put its stamp of approval on the report by Dr. Johnson, who has been trying since last August to see whether he could find common ground toward a solution of the Arab refugee issue between the Arab states on the one hand and Israel on the other. Dr. Johnson’s report on his mission, submitted to the PCC, was sent on to the General Assembly by the commission yesterday.

While Dr. Johnson expressed what he called “cautious optimism” and the hope that extension of the special mission until the fall of 1962 might indicate whether a solution is possible, he stated categorically “there are many indications that no progress can be made on the Palestine Arab refugee question apart from, or in advance of, an over-all settlement” of all Arab-Israeli disputes. “It is clear,” he said, “that, as matters stand now, there is no prospect of an early resolution of the Palestine Question as a whole.”

At the same time, however, Dr. Johnson said he found, on the part of both Arab and Israeli statesmen, a will to peace and an interest in the humanitarian aspects of the Arab refugee problem. He advocated further efforts during the coming year toward some “step-by-step” attempts to ease the refugee problem. He stated:

“The willingness expressed to me to consider the possibility of a step-by-step process, without prejudice to positions on the other related issues, leads me to believe that it is worth while continuing the efforts that the Commission has now begun. Whether progress will be possible, no one can now say for certain. But, to state the matter in the most negative way, the signs that no progress is possible are not so conclusive as to justify a decision not to try.”

Dr. Johnson, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was sent to the Middle East by the Commission when it attempted to carry out a special mandate given it by the Assembly last spring. That mandate instructed the Commission to report what progress, if any, had been made toward “repatriation” of the Arab refugees into Israel, as mentioned, among other possible solutions, in an Assembly resolution that created the Commission in 1948.

‘MISTRUST AND SUSPICION’ BETWEEN ARABS AND ISRAEL STRESSED

Dr. Johnson reported that he found among all the governments concerned “responsible statesmen who want peace in a general way and as a long-term goal.” However, he said, he also found on all sides “a consistency of obdurate determination” and much “mistrust and suspicion and active fear.”

He pointed in his speech to a number of “fundamental considerations” that he said should guide the continuing effort in the next year. He noted that “the focus should be on the refugees.” The cooperation of all the affected governments must be obtained, he said. These governments are Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel.

At the same time he expressed the opinion that it must be recognized that “even if there is some prospect of progress, there can be no early end to the refugee problem. It can only be dealt with on a step-by-step basis with emphasis on the need for parallel and coordinated action by all those involved, not only the governments concerned but the United Nations itself.”

Dr. Johnson emphasized that “the cautious hopes” he expressed could not be fulfilled without “determined, imaginative and generous” international assistance. Planning, he said, must assume that the refugee problem will continue to exist for at least another decade.

In his report, he called the attention of the Assembly to the fact that the PCC’s current mandate for re-study of the Arab refugee problem included the directive not only to take a fresh look at “repatriation” of the Arab refugees into Israel territory but also “resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees.”

In order to bring such moves into effect during the current decade, he stated, “accelerated economic growth for the area as a whole,” would be required. Throughout his report, which he noted would probably displease all parties concerned, at least in part, Dr. Johnson referred to resettlement and integration of the refugees as one of the alternatives to repatriation. The report will be one of the principal items to be considered by the Assembly’s Special Political Committee when it takes up the Arab refugee item this week.