ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT URGES SUPPORT FOR ACTIVITIES OF UNHCR

Press Release
GA/SM/129
REF/1165

ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT URGES SUPPORT FOR ACTIVITIES OF UNHCR

Statement to Contributions Meeting Notes Special Problem Of Refugee Situations Which Do Not Command Media Attention

This is the text of a statement today by the President of the General Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab (Namibia), to the meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Announcement of Voluntary Contributions to the Year 2000 Programmes of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR):

I am pleased to open this meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly for the Announcement of Voluntary Contributions to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. For an organization such as UNHCR that depends almost entirely on voluntary contributions, the support of governments is extremely important. This Conference represents an opportunity to express that support.

The High Commissioner, Sadako Ogata, who was in New York only last week to address the Third Committee on the situation of refugees, regrets that she is unable to be present today. I, therefore, invite John Horekens, Director of UNHCR’s Division of Communication and Information, to represent her. I shall shortly be asking him to present to us the financial needs of his organization for the year 2000.

As was pointed out during last week’s debate in the Third Committee, the year 2000 will be UNHCR’s fiftieth anniversary. It is a sobering thought that an organization created in the wake of the Second World War, for a mandate that was initially intended to be of limited duration, should now need close to $1 billion for basic protection and assistance to refugees and others of concern, who now number well over 20 million worldwide.

Such needs can be met only through concerted efforts. It is significant that the annual theme chosen by UNHCR’s Executive Committee for its session last month was about strengthening partnership to ensure protection and security. To achieve this, the agency’s relationship with governments is most important.

Many governments in the developing world which host large numbers of refugees and returnees make generous contributions in terms of land, social and economic facilities and infrastructure. They pay a heavy price -- one that is not always fully acknowledged.

- 2 - Press Release GA/SM/129 REF/1165 18 November 1999

Another worrying phenomenon, to which attention has been drawn both by the Executive Committee and in the Third Committee, is the disparity of resources allocated to certain protracted refugee situations, which do not command the attention of the media. This is a very real concern to many of us, particularly those of us who come from countries in Africa where forgotten crises linger on, starved of the resources that could help find solutions.

Attached to the invitation to today’s meeting is an annex showing that for the year 2000, UNHCR will require some $933 million in order to meet minimum standards of protection and assistance for those of concern to the organization. The contributions you will announce here this morning will help create a solid financial base for these activities, and will demonstrate your solidarity with efforts to assist victims of persecution and violence worldwide.

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