INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY PLEDGES $195 MILLION FOR UNHCR 2000 NEEDS, PROJECTED AT $933 MILLION

Press Release
GA/9661
REF/1164

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY PLEDGES $195 MILLION FOR UNHCR 2000 NEEDS, PROJECTED AT $933 MILLION

Assembly President Says Developing Countries, Hosts to Large Refugee Communities, Pay Heavy, Unacknowledged Price

Some $195 million was pledged to support the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) this morning, at the UNHCR annual pledging conference.

It was sobering to realize that in the fiftieth year of what had been planned as a temporary organization, the UNHCR needed close to $1 billion to protect and assist over 20 million refugees worldwide, the President of the General Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab (Namibia), told the pledging conference.

Developing world countries, which hosted large numbers of refugees, paid a heavy price which was not always acknowledged, he added. There were also resource problems related to protracted refugee situations, which did not command media attention. Forgotten crises lingered on, starved of resources that could help find solutions.

The Director of UNHCR’s Division of Communication and Information, John Horekens, explained that a budgetary target for the year 2000 of $933 million had been approved by UNHCR’s Executive Committee. Some $765 million of that was for operations, and $56 million was for headquarters expenses.

Humanitarian institutions could not be led strictly by funding considerations, he explained, without forfeiting obligations to those they were mandated to protect and assist. To begin 2000 with confidence, some $200 million would be needed by mid-December, and further donations would be appreciated before the second quarter of 2000 to allow UNHCR to avoid the usual March-April funding pressure, which had a destabilizing effect on programme delivery. He sought donors’ help to achieve that goal.

Representatives of Member States reaffirmed the importance of the assistance provided by UNHCR. However, some explained that the timing of the pledging conference made it difficult for them to make a confident announcement of their financial support. Several expressed doubts as to the continuing utility of the present method of seeking funds. Others expressed concern about certain donors

Ad Hoc Committee for Voluntary - 1a - Press Release GA/9661 Contributions to UNHCR REF/1164 1st Meeting (AM) 18 November 1999

earmarking funds to specific activities, which prohibited the most effective use of scarce resources. The issue of fairer funding for UNHCR, based on capacity to pay, was also raised.

Several representatives said that their States intended to donate, but that they could not announce a figure, as parliamentary approval had not been given, while others gave qualified figures, pending legislative approval.

The representatives of Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Malaysia, Hungary, Turkey, Thailand, Algeria, United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Norway, Netherlands, United States and Switzerland addressed the meeting.

Opening Statements

THEO-BEN GURIRAB, President of the General Assembly, opened the meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Assembly for the Announcement of Voluntary Contributions to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He said that UNHCR depended almost entirely on voluntary contributions, and that the support of governments was extremely important.

Since the High Commissioner, Sadako Ogata, was unable to be present today, Mr. Gurirab had invited John Horekens, Director of UNHCR's Division of Communication and Information, to represent her and to present the financial needs of his organization for the year 2000. That year would be UNHCR's fiftieth anniversary, and it was sobering to realize that an organization created for a mandate intended to be of limited duration now needed close to $1 billion for basic protection and assistance to more than 20 million refugees worldwide. Such needs could only be met through concerted efforts.

The Assembly President went on to say that governments in the developing world which hosted large numbers of refugees paid a heavy price, not always fully acknowledged, in terms of land, social and economic facilities and infrastructure. In addition, there was a disparity of resources allocated to certain protracted refugee situations, which did not command the attention of the media. Especially in Africa forgotten crises lingered on, starved of resources that could help find solutions.

For the year 2000, UNHCR would require some $933 million in order to meet minimum standards of protection and assistance for those of concern to the organization. The contributions announced this morning would create a solid financial base for those activities, and would demonstrate solidarity with efforts to assist victims of persecution and violence worldwide.

JOHN HOREKENS, Director, Division of Communication and Information of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said that this year a unified budget for UNHCR’s annual programme had been developed, unlike the previous dual presentation of the agency’s needs. He was pleased that this allowed a healthier practice of presenting all of the UNHCR’s activities for the forthcoming year under one budget, subject to one global appeal. That made for greater transparency, flexibility and predictability. Additional changes included a detailed description of objectives and outputs, and indicators to monitor them. Requirements were now put in line with the general classification adopted by United Nations agencies.

At its fiftieth session, the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s programme approved a budgetary target of $933 million for 2000, he said. That included $30 million from the regular budget and Junior Professional Officers, and $903 million for the Annual Programme, of which $765 million was for operations, $56 million was for headquarters expenses, and $82 million was an operational reserve. That target was slightly higher than initial requirements for 1999, but lower than the revised 1999 budget, which was the result of the massive requirements for the Kosovo emergency.

The UNHCR worked hard to reduce its requirements, he said. However, recent developments in East Timor and the potential need for large-scale repatriation to Sierra Leone would inevitably lead to increased requirements through the creation of supplementary programmes. Attempts to reduce budgets were upset by new crises. New demands were carefully assessed before requirements were budgeted.

Income had not always met targets, he said, and there had recently been gaps between stated requirements and resources available. Income projections were taken into account in calculating budget requirements, but as a humanitarian institution the UNHCR could not be led strictly by funding considerations without forfeiting its obligations to those it was mandated to protect and assist. Activities had to be reprioritized in the light of shortfalls. He appealed for generous contributions.

The UNHCR had, in the past, commented on the progressive attrition of its capacity to carry over unobligated funds from one year to another, he said. That was a direct result of the funding gap, and was the object of real efforts to introduce strict prioritization criteria in UNHCR’s corporate culture. More than ever, sufficient and early pledges were needed so that the first quarter of the unified budget requirements was covered as the year started. To begin the year 2000 with confidence, some $200 million would need to be available before mid- December, and he sought donors’ help to achieve that. He also appealed to donors to make further announcements before the second quarter of 2000, to allow UNHCR to avoid the funding pressure usually felt between March and April, which had a destabilizing effect on programme delivery.

He recalled the commitment of the international community to UNHCR’s work, expressed through the approval by the Executive Committee of the Office’s budget. That meant that the High Commissioner had no choice but to urge donors to translate their support into financial terms. The UNHCR strove to define the scope and volume of its activities through increased dialogue with Member States before establishing requirements, rather than adjust programmes to the level of funding that materialized. It would also work closely with the Executive Committee to link funding mechanisms with the budgetary procedures of that Committee. Better structured funding negotiations might assist UNHCR in reaching better funding predictability, he said.

It was a sad reality of the world that, as UNHCR was about to turn 50, the basic requirements of protection and assistance continued to be so high and so pressing. On behalf of the High Commissioner, he thanked Member States for their continuing support to meet those needs.

Announcement of Pledges

The President of the Assembly, THEO-BEN GURIRAB, then announced pledges that had been received prior to the pledging conference. Benin ($2,500), China ($250,000), Ghana ($5,000), Monaco ($10,000), Uganda ($1,000), United Arab Emirates ($54,000) and Yemen ($2,160) had made such pledges

In his concluding comments, Mr. HOREKENS of UNHCR thanked Member States which had announced contributions. The overwhelmingly strong support they had expressed was comforting. He said that at the outset he had indicated an objective of $200 million available by early December. Contributions of approximately $195 million had been announced, and some additional pledges had not been quantified. The objective had been met and UNHCR could now prepare for 2000. The UNHCR was determined to increase the platform of donor support, he said, not just with the government sector but also with the private and corporate sectors.

He expressed UNHCR’s full commitment to ensuring that the new unified budget system worked in terms of prioritization of activities and resources. The support expressed for the strategic planning budgetary process was pleasing.

The UNHCR would continue to focus attention on the forgotten crises, he said, and also on Africa. At present about 50 per cent of its operational budget was for Africa. In addition, the High Commissioner was ready to pursue a dialogue with Member States about alternate pledging methods, he concluded.

Pledges Announced Local Currency US$ Equivalent

Denmark 332.5 million kroner 48,000,000

Germany 8.1 million deutschemarks 4,350,000

Malaysia 20,000

Hungary 30,000

Turkey 150,000

Thailand 15,000

Algeria 50,000

Mexico 100,000

Norway 170 million kroner 21,666,000

Netherlands 47.5 million guilders 22,640,000

United States 100,000,000

Switzerland 26 million Swiss francs 16,990,000

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