Council Regulation (EC) No 443/97 of 3 March 1997 on operations to aid uprooted people in Asian and Latin American developing countries

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 443/97 of 3 March 1997 on operations to aid uprooted people in Asian and Latin American developing countries
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130w thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 189c of the Treaty (2),
(1) Having regard to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees adopted on 28 July 1951 by the United Nations Conference on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons, as well as the New York Protocol adopted on 31 January 1967 and other resolutions adopted by the United Nations on refugee policy,
(2) Having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women of 1979 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989,
(3) Having regard to the Resolution of the European Parliament of 16 December 1983 on assistance to refugees in developing countries and its subsequent resolutions,
(4) Whereas both the European Parliament and the Council have called for greater effort on the part of the Community in this field;
(5) Whereas the effectiveness of aid programmes for uprooted people (refugees, displaced persons, returnees and demobilized soldiers) is dependent on the coordination of aid at European level and with other aid donors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and United Nations agencies;
(6) Whereas there is a need to step up efforts to prevent conflict and to promote peaceful solutions to political conflicts or wars that cause population displacements;
(7) Whereas specialized bodies and agencies and NGOs implementing such operations have gained considerable experience in providing assistance to uprooted people;
(8) Whereas the Community wishes aid for uprooted people to be provided in such a way as to help them move from subsistence to self-sufficiency, namely to make them less dependent, help them reintegrate or re-settle by means of operations to develop self-sufficiency through farming, livestock-rearing, fish-farming, the setting-up of credit systems, basic education and vocational training and decent standards of health and hygiene;
(9) Whereas this type of aid is a prerequisite for development and thus makes a major contribution towards achieving the Community's cooperation policy objectives under Article 130u of the Treaty;
(10) Whereas the budget authority has entered in the budget a heading intended to finance operations to aid uprooted people (refugees, displaced persons, returnees and demobilized soldiers) in developing countries;
(11) Whereas a financial reference amount, within the meaning of point 2 of the declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 6 March 1995 (3), is entered in this Regulation for the period from 1996 to 1999, without affecting the powers of the budgetary authority defined by the Treaty;
(12) Whereas administrative rules and procedures applicable to cooperation operations to contribute to the self-sufficiency of uprooted people (refugees, displaced persons, returnees and demobilized soldiers) should be laid down,