A/HRC/10/85 page 12 generosity is all the more commendable. It is seldom in my long career with UNHCR that I had come across such warm acceptance of refugees by the authorities. This of course does not mean that there are no protection problems for Somali refugees in Yemen. I shall refer to them in my recommendations. 33. In the meetings I had with the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ali Muthana Hassan, and the Deputy Minister for Human Rights, Ali Saleh Taiseer, as well as their colleagues, I was impressed by the concern and sympathy they expressed for refugees from Somalia. While reiterating the policy of the Government of Yemen to accept and host Somali refugees to the best of its ability, they also asked me to convey their plea to the international community for more burden-sharing in this regard. 34. I was also pleased to learn that the Somali refugees in Yemen have unrestricted access to all educational institutions and that the Government has made some 150 scholarships available to Somali students to study in Yemeni universities and high schools for the year 2008/09. The Vice Foreign Minister however, added that his Government would appreciate international support to address the health needs and unemployment situation of Somali refugees in Yemen. 35. In sharing his views on the situation in Somalia, Dr. Muthana stated that, unless the root causes of the conflict were addressed, it would not be possible to improve the human rights situation, noting that the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops without an alternative will make the situation worse. 36. Dr. Muthana also referred to the issue of the piracy situation which, he felt, was helping to bring back the focus on Somalia. He thought that the big powers owning merchant fleets crossing the Gulf of Aden could help to stabilize not only Somali waters but also the country. He considered that piracy was an easy way to make money. By helping villagers in Somalia with that money, pirates were perhaps gaining support of the population. 37. Among other things, he mentioned that illegal fishing and dumping of toxic waste in Somali waters by western nations was causing anger to Somalis. He thought that patrolling by NATO ships in the Gulf of Aden was also adversely affecting the activities of Yemeni fishermen and the arrival of refugee boats. The fishermen were losing their revenues and many refugee-carrying boats were being held by the International Force. He suggested that I lobby the League of Arab States and the OIC for contribution of the Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait to assist the refugees with scholarships, health and employment opportunities. IV. INFORMATION ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN LAW SITUATION IN SOMALIA GATHERED FROM THE UNITED NATIONS AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS 38. To obtain further information on the situation in Somalia, I also consulted United Nations officials and NGOs involved with Somalia and read their periodic reports. On the basis of these, I have put together below some additional information relating to human rights in Somalia. Most of these have been corroborated by the refugees I talked to in Yemen and Kenya.