Assistant High Commissioner meets with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during an official visit to Cairo, Egypt.
UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Ms. Gillian Triggs, concluded her first official visit to Egypt on 2 December. In Cairo, Ms. Triggs met with government officials and other stakeholders to exchange views on progress made and challenges in asylum management.
Her mission coincided with an event to mark UNHCR’s seven decades of work in Egypt, the launch of a book on this long history and recognised the hospitality and support provided by the people and government of Egypt to refugees.
The visit came at a time when Egypt is in the process of drafting a national asylum law, a development UNHCR supports. In a series of joint workshops with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last year, UNHCR presented refugee law standards, principles related to the admission and identification of persons in need of international protection, in addition to useful legal practices from other asylum systems.
“By developing a government-owned domestic protection framework, Egypt could institutionalize the long tradition of hospitality and refugee protection that it has displayed for more than 70 years.” said Ms Triggs.
During her three-day visit, Ms. Triggs met with the Assistant Foreign Minister for Multilateral Affairs and International Security to discuss the existing cooperation between UNHCR and the Government of Egypt.
Ms. Triggs thanked the Government for their hospitality towards refugees and asylum-seekers and providing them access to education and healthcare services. She also commended Egypt’s critical role in the region and globally. The government underscored the vital role UNHCR plays in registering refugees in Egypt and suggested ways to further strengthen the collaboration between UNHCR and the Egyptian Government.
Ms. Triggs also held meetings with the Minister of Social Solidary, and members of the inter-ministerial national refugee committee. Ms. Triggs met with the Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, the Director General of Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding, members of the diplomatic community and non-governmental organizations supporting refugees. During her meetings, Ms. Triggs highlighted the principles of the Global Compact for Refugees and emphasized the need for more predictable and equitable responsibility-sharing to ease pressure on host countries such as Egypt.
As of 31 October 2022, Egypt hosted more than 288,000 registered refugees and asylum-seekers from 60 different countries including Syria (50%), Sudan (20%), South Sudan (8%), Eritrea (7%), Ethiopia (5%) and Yemen (3%).
For more information, please contact:
In Cairo, Christine Beshay, Associate External Relations Officer, arecapi@unhcr.org, +2012 8214 6405
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