United States Mission Geneva

While longer-term planning is under way for Haiti’s reconstruction, an aggressive effort is being made to prepare Haitians for potentially severe tropical storms and a dangerous hurricane season, as well as the flooding and landslides that accompany them, a senior U.S. development official says.

The United States is the largest single source of support for assistance to refugees and victims of conflict. It’s true financially, where we’ve provided more than $1.7 billion to refugees and conflict victims last year, including $640 million in support for UNHCR.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced today that the United States will be making an additional contribution of $60.3 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to support UNRWA’s core budget and special projects in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.

Ambassador Donahoe: “The United States is deeply concerned about the recent inter-ethnic violence and the tragic loss of life in Kyrgyzstan. The adoption by consensus of today’s resolution on Kyrgyzstan demonstrates that Council member states can work together to respond to a crisis situation virtually in real time. The resolution condemns the provocations and violence in Osh and Jalalabad.

The United States, like many members of this body, is deeply concerned by and deplores the recent inter-ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan and the tragic loss of life there. We believe that this draft resolution, HRC/14/L.2, reflects this concern we all share.

The Refugee Act reflects the highest American values and aspirations — of compassion, generosity and leadership in serving vulnerable populations. Moreover, reliance on the support of millions of individual Americans is a fundamental component of the success that the Act has achieved.

Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Eric P. Schwartz announced in the Dominican Republic yesterday that the Department of State will make additional planned contributions totaling $10.5 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to support the people of Haiti and the Dominican Republic in the aftermath of the January earthquake.

For more than 30 years, this agency has supported projects that promote conservation of species and habitats in ways that reduce poverty and increase incomes. USAID works with local communities, governments and international partners to improve the management of more than 100 million hectares of natural areas annually.

On April 21, 2010, representatives of the United States Government and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) signed a bilateral Framework for Cooperation agreement for the years 2010 and 2011, signaling their continued partnership to advance protection, assistance and durable solutions for refugees, stateless persons, and other vulnerable persons of concern.