Fwd: UNHCR Press Release

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Fwd: UNHCR Press Release


----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Fabienne Philippe" <[email protected]>

>From UNHCR NGO Unit
 
1 October 2001
 
LUBBERS CALLS FOR LASTING SOLUTIONS FOR WORLD'S REFUGEES
 
GENEVA -- U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers warned
Monday that the international community's failure to find lasting
solutions for the plight of millions of refugees is driving them
increasingly toward human smugglers and resulting in growing
intolerance and xenophobia in asylum states.

Opening the weeklong annual meeting of UNHCR's 57-nation Executive
Committee, the agency's governing body, Lubbers said too many of the
world's refugees are languishing in camps for years on end and that
the failure to provide solutions for them "makes us all guilty of
their degradation."

"It can also lead to a rise in crime and the threat of further
conflict or instability," he said of the lack of durable solutions for
refugees. "We must guard against this. The unacceptable alternatives
are more protracted refugee situations, more refugees languishing in
refugee camps year after year, more refugees taking desperate measures
to find safety and a better future, and more refugees being exploited
by criminal networks."
 
Declaring that protection of refugees without lasting solutions is
"not protection," Lubbers said UNHCR and the international community
must focus more on voluntary repatriation, local integration in
countries of first asylum, or resettlement to third countries.

"Smuggling and trafficking of people are on the rise," he said. "With
regular arrival routes closed, many refugees continue to turn to
smugglers to reach safety, in spite of the dangers and the financial
costs involved. Other migrants portray themselves as refugees to
overcome immigration barriers. The result is that refugees are often
stigmatised in the public mind. This presents two main challenges:
governments must find ways of handling asylum applications more
quickly and fairly; and politicians and people in receiving countries
must avoid stereotyping all asylum seekers as 'phoney' or 'bogus,' if
not 'criminals'."

Lubbers also warned of a "rising tide of xenophobia and intolerance"
in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States
and cautioned that the fight against terrorism should not become a war
on Afghans or Islam. No people, no region and no religion should be
condemned because of the unspeakable acts of a few individuals.

"Refugees and asylum seekers are already the objects of considerable
mistrust and hostility in many countries, and they are particularly
vulnerable in the current climate," he said. "We should beware of
those politicians who claim to pursue the public cause but simply
exploit racial instincts. Fighting against xenophobia must be a top
priority*"

The High Commissioner noted that Afghans are particularly vulnerable.

"Even before the barbaric acts of 11 September, Afghans constituted
the largest refugee population in the world, with some 4 million
spread out between Iran, Pakistan and a multitude of other countries
across the world," he said. "A war on terrorism should not become a
war on Afghans. Neither should it become a war on Islam."

Lubbers said the terror attacks and the unfolding humanitarian crisis
in Afghanistan and surrounding countries are a "sobering reminder that
emergencies are hard to predict." While funding shortfalls have forced
UNHCR to undergo substantial budget and staff reductions this year,
the agency still needs to be ready to respond to new crises, he said.

"We are preparing for a massive relief operation," he said of the
current Afghanistan emergency and UNHCR's contingency plans for a
worst-case scenario of up to 1.5 million new refugees fleeing into
neighbouring states. "I hope that donors will respond positively to
our appeal for $268 million to cover the next six months."

Elsewhere internationally, refugees and asylum seekers have been in
the media spotlight a great deal in recent months - from West Africa
to France, from the Balkans to the decks of a Norwegian freighter
crowded with asylum seekers off Australia's coast.

"Each of these situations has illustrated the severity of the refugee
problem," said Lubbers, who took up his post on January 1. "Each has
also illustrated the need for UNHCR to adapt to a changing
international political environment -- an environment that is not
changing to the good.

"We face many threats," he continued. "These include restrictive
interpretation of the 1951 (Refugee) Convention; the deteriorating
quality of asylum; the high costs and burdens of hosting refugees -
especially in protracted refugee situations with no solutions in sight
- and the perceived abuse of asylum systems."

Against this backdrop, UNHCR last year launched Global Consultations
on International Protection to promote the full and effective
implementation of the 1951 Convention, as well as to develop new
approaches, tools and standards to ensure that refugees are provided
the protection and durable solutions they deserve. The first ever
meeting of States Parties to the 1951 Convention is set for Geneva in
December.

He listed several other challenges facing by UNHCR, including staff
security - a concern tragically underscored by the murders of five
field workers over the past year. Another is managing complex
population flows, including "mixed flows" of refugees, asylum seekers
and other migrants, and  "mixed-motive" migration, where people leave
their homes for a combination of political, economic and other
reasons.

To meet all of these challenges, he said, UNHCR needs a stable source
of funding.  He noted that UNHCR this year is reducing its staff by 16
percent and its budget by roughly 10 percent to meet projected income.
The agency currently cares for some 21.7 million people with a budget
of $882 million, excluding the new Afghanistan emergency.

"The current working budget amounts to less than $40 per year for each
person of concern to UNHCR," he said. "This is considerably lower than
most previous years. I consider this budget to be the absolute
minimum* If any governments feel that UNHCR can effectively operate
with less, I would like them to explain how."

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