At this time, the number of refugees worldwide
Was estimated at fourteen to eighteen million persons.
This U.N. Commission worked side by side
With diplomatic outreach and careful precision,
To, first, assure the health and safety of refugees,
And then secure cooperative agreements to ease
Their transitions. From war or security’s lapses they flee,
Stateless. “In the years that lie ahead, too, we
Shall encounter men and women on the run.”*
The Committee felt it essential to repeat this lesson:
“We live in a world community conceived
As a community of men and women.” To refugees,
We’ve a duty, and this is a duty to ourselves, for Peace,
To face the ‘problems of millions,’ for their freedom and dignity.**
June Edvenson 