Geneva 10 December 2008
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
Let me begin by extending my sincere thanks to you for participating in the second Dialogue on Protection Challenges.
The inaugural Dialogue focused on refugee protection and international migration. There will be a side event tomorrow to look in more detail into its impact, which for UNHCR included the re-examination and additional resourcing of several key operations.
It is my hope that participants will approach this Dialogue, on protracted refugee situations, in the same spirit of equality, informality and openness that characterized last year's discussions.
Ladies and gentlemen,
UNHCR defines protracted situations as those in which refugees have worn that appellation for at least five years.
In the 30 such situations identified by UNHCR, which involve nearly six million refugees not including the Palestinians, the burden of hosting those refugees falls almost exclusively to developing states. It is important to recognize that the international community has not done enough to share that burden.
Sixty years ago today, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Refugees have been able to avail themselves of article 14 of the Declaration, to seek asylum from persecution in other countries.
But the real promise of the Declaration lies in its guarantees of equality and non-discrimination, of the rights to education and free choice of employment, of freedom of movement within states and the right to leave and return to one's own state. Refugees in protracted situations may be denied these rights for years.
There is no single type of protracted situation. There are refugees in traditional camp settings where the prospect of a durable solution through voluntary repatriation or local integration is meagre or non-existent. There are refugees who are substantially self-reliant but lack a legal basis for the continued stay in their countries of asylum. There are refugees in urban settings who, because of the length of their stay, will find it very difficult to return and reintegrate, particularly in rural areas of their countries of origin.
Urban refugees and the urbanization phenomenon more generally will be a strategic policy priority for UNHCR throughout 2009.
The constructive response of Syria and Jordan to the massive number of Iraqi refugees in those countries suggests that the urbanization of refugees may present opportunities as well as obstacles. I acknowledge, however, that both UNHCR and the international community have still much to learn about providing protection and assistance in urban settings.
UNHCR is presently revising its guidance on urban refugees and next year's Dialogue will be entirely devoted to the issue. More immediately, there will be a side meeting on urban refugees over the lunch period today.