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Remarks of Mr. António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at the Ministerial Conference "Building a Europe of Asylum," Paris, 8 & 9 September 2008
8 Sep 2008 -
"Preserving Protection in a World on the Move," by Mr. António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya, 20 June 2008
20 Jun 2008 -
"People on the Move: The Challenges of Displacement in the 21st Century" - International Rescue Committee UK Annual Lecture by Mr. António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Royal Geographical Society, London, 16 June 2008
16 Jun 2008 -
"New challenges of forced displacement" - Introduction by Mr. António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to a lunchtime debate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, The Hague, 8 April 2008
8 Apr 2008 -
Statement by Mr. António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, on Poverty Reduction and Development, at the Progressive Governance Conference, London, 4 April 2008
4 Apr 2008 Displaced populations are seriously disadvantaged in Millennium Development Goal #1 (eradicating extreme poverty)
Examples: Ecuador (16% under $1 per day, among Colombian refugees 50%), Sri Lanka (23% and 53% respectively)
Need is to make use of the productive capacity of refugees, this not done by keeping them in camps
Refugees and displaced can also contribute to reconstruction and peacebuilding process
Mass return creates opportunities (cementing social relations, underpinning transition to democracy) and also risks (no infrastructure means no jobs)
Also, poverty is a major reason for people leaving in the first place -
Opening Statement by Mr. António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at the High Commissioner's Dialogue on Protection Challenges; Theme: "Refugee Protection, Durable Solutions and International Migration," Geneva, 11 December 2007
11 Dec 2007 Questions:
1. What is is Dialogue?
A step towards forging an international consensus on protection in context of current displacement
Refugee numbers not increasing recently, but numbers of displaced are
2. Why refugee protection, durable solutions and international migration?
Because new forms of displacement are emerging that are not covered by international refugee law
3. UNHCR's perspective:
Starting point is 1951 Convention, but refugee concept has changed over last 50 years
200 million or more people are now living outside their own country, of whom just 10 million are refugees
10-Point Plan of Action lists UNHCR's objectives in relation to mixed migration movements (lists them)
Raises 4 other issues:
1. Migration is an inevitable concommitant of globalisation
2. Migration cannot be managed by border controls or migration policies alone -- e.g. needs development programmes to reduce poverty, conflict prevention, climate change mitigation
3. States should provide legal migration alternatives
4. Better cooperation needed, between States yes, but also involving other stakeholders -
Address by Mr. António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to European Union Justice and Home Affairs Ministers, Brussels, 6 December 2007
6 Dec 2007 -
Keynote Speech by Mr. António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at the Third Symposium on Corporate Social Responsibility and Humanitarian Assistance, Tokyo, 26 November 2007
26 Nov 2007 Three reasons why people are on the move:
1. poverty: fuels irregular migration, fertile ground for people-smugglers and -traffickers
2. climate change and environmental degradation; no political will to address this
3. conflict and persecution: when linked to other causes, e.g. water scarcity, as in Darfur, the results can be devastating
In 1990s the concept of humanitarian intervention emerged (States must protect their citizens, if they can't the international community has a "responsibility to protect" and must intervene)
This now becoming harder to sustain, many nations not buying in, makes UNHCR's work harder, especially with internal displacement
Sustaining peace and democracy in countries emerging from conflict is an area where corporations can help speed the process -
Statement by Mr. António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, 62nd Session, New York, 8 November 2007
8 Nov 2007 Fulfilling UNHCR's precise mandate for refugees means understanding other causes of flight today
UNHCR now dealing with internal displacement in 24 countries
Examples: Uganda (returnee monitoring, road repair); Georgia (help drafting national internal displacement strategy); Liberia (funding a network of protection staff monitoring child protection and SGBV)
There are sometimes synergies between internal displacement and refugee work e.g. community-based assistance in return areas
Progress in addressing statelessness most marked in Nepal, where citizenship certificates issued to 2.6 million, and Bangladesh, where Urdu speakers ('Biharis') to be confirmed as full citizens
Last year 734,000 refugees repatriated voluntarily, over half with direct assistance from UNHCR
Sustainability of return still just as pressing a challenge as ever
Reshaping Resettlement Unit important in dealing with protracted situations e.g. Bhutanese in Nepal, Eritreans in eastern Sudan, Myanmarese in Thailand
Ratio of staff to operations costs much improved, money saved has gone to pressing needs in malnutrition, malaria, reproductive health, and sexual and gender-based violence
Internal reform details