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Statement of the United States of America December 12, 2001
We are very pleased to be here with you today on this historic occasion and thank UNHCR and the Government of Switzerland for hosting this important event. Fifty years ago, the drafters of the Refugee Convention developed an instrument that successfully addressed the plight of the millions of people displaced during World War II and its aftermath. But remarkably, the story of this treaty did not end there. The adoption of the Protocol in 1967 broadened the application of the Convention to all refugees, wherever and whenever they might arise. Now, the principles of these treaties have found their way into the national laws, procedures, and policies of all of our countries, guiding thousands of decisions every day on who should be granted asylum and how they should be treated. Because of the Convention and Protocol, millions of people have been protected from persecution and provided with opportunities to begin new lives. Few treaties have accomplished so much. All of us should be proud of what we have done individually and collectively to make this happen. Much of that success is due to effective partnerships between governments, UNHCR and non-governmental organizations. Such collaboration must continue. In this regard, we are pleased that African ministers will be meeting on Friday to address the refugee challenges on their continent. But our purpose today should not only be to celebrate
the past but to grapple with the many challenges that lie ahead. The
Global Consultations have provided us with an excellent opportunity
for doing just this, and we commend UNHCR for its efforts, including
the development of a draft Agenda for Protection. We look forward
to working closely with UNHCR and other Executive Committee members
to finalize and then act on this document. We must also make a priority of addressing the current budget crisis faced by UNHCR. Our governments created UNHCR to ensure the full and effective application of the Convention. Yet in recent years, the Office of the High Commissioner has encountered shortfall after shortfall in meeting its assessment of refugees' needs. Admirably, High Commissioner Lubbers has sought to tackle this problem and, in our view, has properly re-focused the organization on its core mandate. But, to keep UNHCR's operations driven by refugees' needs -- not just the amount of resources UNHCR receives -- each of us must maintain and, in some cases, increase our financial support for the organization. The United States' commitment to maintaining its high level of support will not be enough if other key donors fail to do more. Furthermore, we must explore ways of strengthening implementation of the Convention. During the Global Consultations, there have been many proposals but little consensus on this important topic. Rather than experimenting with the creation of costly and potentially divisive new supervisory mechanisms, the United States recommends that UNHCR's Executive Committee re-establish a Sub-committee on International Protection. This group should be empowered to ask UNHCR for its frank views on the most serious refugee protection problems and to call on states to undertake concrete actions to address them. While governments should ultimately be responsible for the recommendations made by the Sub-committee, there must also be opportunities for input from responsible experts and non-governmental organizations in this process. As noted in the draft Agenda for Protection, another key challenge is addressing the root causes of refugee flows. This, of course, is more easily said than done, given the complex problems that motivate people to flee their countries and their equally complicated remedies. Despite these obstacles, we are hopeful that recent developments in Afghanistan -- the country that has produced the greatest number of refugees in the past two decades -- will permit the Afghan people to restore peace and democracy to their troubled land. With international cooperation and support, this may allow the millions of their displaced citizens to return home in safety and dignity. We must also learn to deal more effectively with the many issues that arise in situations of mass influx. In this regard, we cannot emphasize enough the importance of refugee registration and are pleased to see it included in the draft Agenda for Protection. The separation of combatants from civilians in the context of refugee movements is equally urgent, as borne out by the current flow of Taliban fighters into neighboring countries. Furthermore, in all refugee situations, we must not forget the special needs of women and children, who continue to make up the vast majority of the world's refugees. Another serious challenge is protecting refugees in the context of other migrant flows, especially those involving smuggling and trafficking. We call on countries to become Parties to the recently concluded Protocols on the smuggling and trafficking of persons, which provide a common framework for attacking these problems while abiding by fundamental protection principles. We also welcome the establishment of a joint UNHCR-IOM working group to further explore the so-called asylum-migration nexus, as well as UNHCR's recommendation that guidelines be developed to ensure the protection of refugees during migrant interdiction efforts. We agree with others that the quick return of persons found not to be in need of international protection is critical to any effective and credible asylum system. But while we recognize the difficulties posed by the irregular movement of people, we strongly disagree with those who suggest that this should cause us to revise the Convention or UNHCR's basic role in overseeing its implementation. The principles of the Convention and UNHCR's mandate are fundamentally about protection and should remain so. Strategies for dealing with other types of migration are better addressed through other instruments and institutions. Finally, the realization of durable solutions for refugees continues to challenge governments just as it did when the Convention was first developed. Like most countries, we share the view that, where feasible, voluntary repatriation remains the best solution for both refugees and the countries that host them. However, that is not always possible. Thus, when refugees cannot go home, all of us must do what we can to integrate them into our societies or offer resettlement where appropriate. The United States has given permanent homes to over 2 million refugees in the past 25 years, and President Bush has recently reaffirmed our strong commitment to the resettlement of refugees from around the world. Our society is richer and stronger because of the contributions made by many of these people, as evidenced by the participation on our delegation of Ambassador Sichan Siv - a former refugee from Cambodia. We applaud the many other countries -- especially those struggling with their own social and economic problems -- who have also hosted or resettled large numbers of refugees. Mr. Chairman, many have said in recent weeks that the
world is a different place since September 11. And, indeed it is.
But to the millions of refugees still languishing in camps and the
many other people in search of protection, the world is much the same.
Thus, while the United States must undertake new measures to protect
our national security, we cannot and will not permit the tragic events
of September 11 to compromise our longstanding tradition of providing
refuge and assistance to those in need. We hope all of you will join
us in reaffirming our commitment to this noble purpose and to the
tenets of the treaty that first gave it shape. The humanitarian principles
enshrined in the 1951 Convention are as fundamental today as they
were 50 years ago, and must remain so.
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