High Commissioner Guterres heads to Tajikistan
Briefing Notes, 28 March 2008
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 28 March 2008, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
High Commissioner António Guterres starts a three-day visit to the Republic of Tajikistan on Monday. He is expected to meet President Emomali Rahmon and various other key ministers. They will discuss improvement of the national asylum systems in the country; the integration of some 1,000 Afghans who have been refugees in Tajikistan for up to 20 years; and further cooperation between UNHCR and the country. Over the past 15 years, UNHCR has enjoyed an excellent working relationship with the Government of Tajikistan.
In the course of the visit, the High Commissioner will also participate in the official opening of vocational training projects established at a refugee training centre in Dushanbe.
In 1993, Tajikistan was the first country in Central Asia to accede to the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol on the status of refugees. It was also the first country to adopt national refugee legislation. Tajikistan currently hosts 1,710 refugees and asylum seekers, mostly from Afghanistan.
This is the third mission the High Commissioner has made to Central Asia, following his visits to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in November last year. He is also planning to visit Turkmenistan in the near future.
Prior to his Central Asia mission, Mr. Guterres will attend an Arab heads summit in Damascus, Syria, over the weekend.
António Guterres, who joined UNHCR on June 15, 2005, is the UN refugee agency's 10th High Commissioner.
UNHCR chief meets Malian refugees in Burkina Faso
On 1 August, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres travelled to northern Burkina Faso with the United States' Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (BRPM), Anne Richard. In Damba camp, they met with Malian refugees who had fled northern Mali in the past six months to escape the ongoing conflict and political instability. To date, more than 250,000 Malian refugees have fled their homes and found refuge in neighbouring countries, including 107,000 in Burkina Faso alone. The UN refugee agency has only received one-third of the US$153 million it needs to provide life-saving assistance such as shelter, water, sanitation, health services, nutrition and protection to the refugees. UNHCR fears that the volatile political and humanitarian situation in Mali could lead to further outflows to neighbouring countries.
UNHCR chief meets Malian refugees in Burkina Faso
Angelina Jolie meets boat people in Malta, Lampedusa
Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie joined UNHCR chief António Guterres on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where they met with boat people who have fled unrest in North Africa.
More than 40,000 people, including refugees and asylum-seekers, have crossed the Mediterranean on overcrowded boats and descended on the small island since the beginning of the year.
The UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador flew to Lampedusa from Malta, which has also been a destination for people fleeing North Africa by boat.
Angelina Jolie meets boat people in Malta, Lampedusa
UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie visits Ecuador
Angelina Jolie, in Ecuador this past weekend, on her first field visit as the new Special Envoy of UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres.
In her previous role as a UN refugee agency Goodwill Ambassador, Jolie has conducted more than 40 field visits over the last decade. This is her third time in Ecuador - home to the largest refugee population in Latin America.
Ecuador currently hosts some 56,000 refugees and 21,000 asylum-seekers. It continues to receive 1,300 new applications for refugee status each month from people fleeing Colombia. Many live in remote and poor areas of the country close to the Colombian border.
UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie visits Ecuador
Lebanon: Guterres urges support
On the first leg of his World Refugee Day visit to the region, the UN High Commissioner calls for support for Lebanon.
Enough
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres and the heads of four key UN sister organizations call on governments to find a political solution to the Syria crisis.
DR Congo: Central African Republic Refugees
Fighting and a coup since late last year in Central African Republic have forced more than 30,000 people to seek refuge in DR Congo. UNHCR chief António Guterres visited some of them.
| 
| 
| 
