information on the situation of refugees in the various regions of the world, described in doctament A/AC.96/ES/CRP.1. 13. Mr. DUARTE (Nicaragua), referring first to the situation in Central America, reminded the Executive Committee that in the course of the previous decade, armed conflicts had forced nearly 2 million people to leave their homes. More than 150,000 of them were considered to be refugees and as such received assistance. But there were also all those who, although satisfying the criteria established, had not applied for assistance or for refugee status. There were also the tens of thousands of refugees who had returned voluntarily to their country of origin (approximately 20,000 in Nicaragua) and who still needed hvunanitarian assistance. 14. In view of the magnitude of those problems, the Governments of the five Central American coxmtries, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, in their Esquipulas II Declaration of 7 August 1987 had underscored the urgent need to seek the assistance that was vital in order to resolve the refugee problem. Sharing this concern, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the High Commissioner had convened the International Conference on Central American Refugees (CIREFCA) in March 1989. The projects undertaken following the Conference had been implemented remarkably well thanks to the generosity of donors, the participation of the local population and the contribution of the Office of the High Commissioner. In April 1990, the heads of State of the five Central American countries, meeting in Montelimar, Nicaragua, had adopted a new Declaration advocating the implementation of programmes for displaced populations, returnees and refugees in Central America and had called upon the international community to increase its assistance for that purpose. The donor countries should give greater support to the efforts being made by the countries of the region to find durable solutions to refugee problems and also to promote peace and 
**Analysis**
The text appears to focus on the situation of refugees in Central America, discussing the number of people affected, the efforts made to assist them, and the calls for increased international support. The text highlights the humanitarian aspect of the situation, with a focus on providing assistance to refugees and displaced populations.

**Category**
Humanitarian aid and relief