UNHCR's Standing Committee meets in regular session

UNHCR's Standing Committee is meeting this week in Geneva from Monday through Thursday. The Standing Committee consists of representatives of the 54 states members of UNHCR's Executive Committee. Numerous states as well as UN and other intergovernmental and non-governmental agencies are present as observers.

UNHCR's Executive Committee conducts its ongoing review of the agency's operations through the meetings of the Standing Committee. The Executive Committee meets in plenary session in October of each year, while the Standing Committee meets 3 times during the year. The Committee's current chairman is Ambassador Victor Rodríguez-Cedeño of Venezuela.

This week's session will focus on issues related to the international protection of refugees, which will also be considered by the plenary session in October. Two specific issues are being discussed, i.e. the detention of asylum seekers and refugees and the protection of refugee families. UNHCR activities in Europe, the former Yugoslavia and the Americas will be reviewed. In addition, the committee will receive a report on progress in the area of the reduction of statelessness and it will address a variety of administrative and financial issues. This meeting will also settle on the annual theme to be debated in October at the Committee's annual session.

Meetings of the Standing Committee are not open to the press, but the Committee's records are in due course published as General Assembly documents and become public.