This report examines the situation of refugees and displaced persons in Central America with particular emphasis on assistance and protection issues and on the US Government's policy in the region. It is divided into five parts. The first contains an overview of refugee exoduses and movements of displaced persons within Central America and Mexico. The author suggests that the US Government has not paid sufficient attention to the problems of refugees and displaced persons in Central America, despite the fact that US contributions to UNHCR have been an essential component in the international refugee programmes in that region. The legal status of refugees and protection issues in each country are examined in the second and third parts. The author notes that Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and, recently, Guatemala and El Salvador are signatories to the UN 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol. At the same time, she observes that there are no refugee programmes in Guatemala and that the UNHCR has neither been invited to investigate the conditions of the 70,000 Salvadorians there nor to establish programmes to help them. It is pointed out that, while adhering to the principle of non-refoulement, the Mexican Government has been under pressure both internally and also from the US Government to pursue repatriation negotiations with the Guatemalan Government, and that some Salvadorian refugees may have been sent back across the border to Guatemala. The author argues that displaced persons are on the whole more vulnerable than refugee groups to repression and assault, and she notes that the situation in El Salvador has been recognized as a major humanitarian emergency by the Government. The two final parts of the report contain the conclusions and recommendations. The author's recommendations include: 1) assistance programmes should be channelled through local churches or other independent agencies; 2) the US Government should ensure that its assistance programmes be administered by social service agencies, not the military as is the case in Guatemala; 3) there should be an increased international presence in Nicaragua to exert a humanitarian influence in issues concerning Miskito Indians; 4) the US should continue to support ICRC programmes in Nicaragua; 5) US assistance programmes in El Salvador should be less politicized; and 6) the US Government should avoid allowing political and military considerations to take precedence over the protection of refugees. In conclusion, the author suggests that the restoration of peace in the region would result in voluntary repatriation.