UNHCR and the British Embassy joined forces to honour refugee resilience in a reception at the British Ambassador’s residence on Monday.
UNHCR Egypt Representative Karim Atassi (centre right) & British Ambassador John Casson (centre left) jointly inaugurate the 2018 World Refugee Day reception at the British Embassy in Cairo to support solidarity with Refugees. © UNHCR Egypt/Pedro Costa
The United Nations Refugee Agency in Egypt, UNHCR, and the British Embassy joined forces to honour refugee resilience and renew calls for solidarity with them in a reception at the British Ambassador’s residence on Monday.
The reception was held to mark World Refugee Day, observed annually on June 20. The attendees included Egyptian government officials, representatives of donor countries and agencies, the diplomatic community, United Nations agencies, non-governmental organisations, media, Egyptian civil society, businessmen and celebrities who support refugees.
Two refugees delivered speeches on the aspirations and challenges facing refugees in Egypt, followed by Syrian and African refugee band performances. A photo exhibition titled “Then and Now – Refugee Voices in Egypt” also ran throughout the event to shed light on UNHCR’s work in Egypt, the government’s generosity and Egyptian’s society hospitality toward refugees and asylum-seekers over the past six decades. The exhibition is scheduled to tour Alexandria and other governorates in the coming weeks.
Levels of worldwide displacement remained at an unprecedented high of over 68 million people for the past six years, prompting UNHCR to call for action on three main fronts: solidarity with refugees and host communities, keeping the asylum-lifeline running, and the adoption of a new Global Compact on Refugees by the UN General Assembly in New York this September.
Developing countries host 85% of the world’s total refugee population. Despite surviving on few resources, host communities benevolently share them with refugees. “The government of Egypt and its people are no strangers to this generosity, having opened their doors and hearts to refugees from over 50 countries for decades,” Mr. Karim Atassi, UNHCR Egypt Representative said.
‘’The most important thing in any society is how it looks after the most vulnerable. Egypt has done so much to support refugees, and the UK is not leaving Egypt to carry this responsibility alone. We have provided 75.9m EGP over three years to support migrants and refugees in Egypt as well as 43.2m EGP towards UNHCR Egypt’s work,’’ explained Ambassador John Casson.
Aid to refugee-hosting countries like Egypt is crucial if it is to maintain its current response level without running the risk of exhausting its resources. At the same time, resettlement remains an indispensable means to share responsibility for the global displacement crisis.
Since 2003, 25,099 individuals have been resettled from Egypt to various countries.“In 2018, the UK rose as the largest recipient of resettled refugees from Egypt andI wish to thank the British government for its generous resettlement quota for refugees in Egypt,” Mr. Atassi said,calling upon other states to join the ranks of resettlement countries.
As of 30 June 2018, Egypt hosted 230,340 registered refugees and asylum-seekers from 58 countries.
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