UNHCR Executive Committee Meeting
September 29, 2003

Arthur E. Dewey Assistant Secretary of State For Population, Refugees and Migration Head of Delegation United States of America

Plenary Statement

Mr. Chairman, Mr. High Commissioner, Distinguished Colleagues:

We welcome Ambassadors Boulgaris of Switzerland and Chiaradia of Argentina as our new chair and vice-Chair and Laura Joyce of South Africa as Rapporteur. We thank Ambassador Yimer and Ms. Lynch for their hard and productive work during the last year. We welcome Cyprus, Kenya and Yemen as new members of EXCOM.

First, I wish to pay tribute to a remarkable man - one of UNHCR's own and one of humanity's great captains - Sergio Vieira de Mello. Many in the world have only lately realized the magnitude of our loss - a man whose charisma, wisdom, force and enthusiasm was unparalleled. It is our task now to continue Sergio's work and to ensure that his sacrifice was not in vain. We lost other good friends and colleagues on that dreadful day, including Arthur Helton, who was a true partner in refugee protection. We also deeply regret the murder of four Afghan staff of the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees.

I would like to thank the High Commissioner for his comprehensive overview. The 12 months since we last met here have been tumultuous ones. We are engaged in an unprecedented three simultaneous major wars - Terror, Afghanistan, and Iraq, plus a series of smaller wars in Africa.

In Iraq, we face a difficult post-war task - to bring to this long-suffering country and its people a peaceful and prosperous future. Our main objectives are to improve security, expand the international coalition and accelerate efforts to transfer power and responsibility to the Iraqi people. Success depends upon drawing from the right lessons of the past and achieving conditions for appropriate security, political, and financial burdensharing.

UNHCR and all the UN operational agencies are to be commended for its pre-war contingency planning which provides a good model for the future. Now, UNHCR and the CPA are working together closely to develop the policies and procedures to assist and protect future returnees. UNHCR has a strong leadership role to play on protection issues. We urge close coordination among UNHCR, IOM and UNOHCI on UNHCR's expanded role with internally displaced persons. The joint visit by the High Commissioner and myself to Iraq this summer was extraordinarily useful, as it gave us a common picture of both the needs and how to deal with them.

In Afghanistan over two and a half million refugees have been able to return home. UNHCR's role has been crucial and I would like to repeat the commendation I made last year about the superb work done by the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation and the UNHCR team in the Afghan region. It is important that we keep the focus on Afghanistan and we look forward to tomorrow evening's briefing. The UN and the Afghan government have shown the way for sustainable refugee solutions. Continued success around the world on these patterns could reduce the world's refugee population by 30 percent over the next two years.

Other beacons of hope are Angola and Sierra Leone, where refugees are returning to rebuild their lives and their countries. We hope that Liberia will join this list shortly.
We are finding solutions. The way is not always easy but we have demonstrated that, when we all work together, we can prevail and bring renewed hope for a future to millions of refugees and displaced and their children. In this regard, we would strongly urge that Convention Plus efforts focus on helping to bring about solutions to protracted refugee situations.

voluntary repatriation is not the only solution. The U.S.'s commitment to resettlement remains strong despite lower admissions levels since September 11, 2001. We are working hard both to manage our own security requirements and to identify appropriate new caseloads. We have provided fundinc, to UNHCR to enhance its resettlement capacity and appreciate the increase in the identification and referral of cases we have already begun to see.

Mr. Chairman, challenges remain and new emergencies are sure to arise. Our job as member states is to ensure that UNHCR has the tools to meet the challenges.
The United States is committed to a multilateral approach to refugee protection and assistance and therefore strongly supports UNHCR. We will be adopting the 2004 budget later this week; we must then fund it. For our part, you can count on us for 25 percent of UNHCR's budget. We have provided over $300 million to UNHCR this year - a banner year. We call on other donors to join us in providing record amounts to UNHCR this year. It was sobering to read in the 2004 budget document that currently half of UNHCR's annual budget is funded by three donors. This is not healthy for a multilateral organization.

We owe it to our colleagues here today from refugee hosting countries, whose governments and people provide generous hospitality to those fleeing across their borders, to fulfill our responsibilities as donors.

The under-funding of UNHCR's budget over the last years - a budget that does not even meet basic needs in many countries - is alarming. The resulting erosion of standards of care and protection is unacceptable. We do not even know what the real needs of refugees are, who is doing what, and where the gaps are. We were glad to hear voices raised in this room at the June Standinc Committee in support of a real assessment of needs carried out jointly with partners. We welcome UNHCR's commitment tc move forward on needs-based pilots in 2004 with a view to a more comprehensive assessment in 2005.

My delegation supports the mechanism to allow additionality is proposed for the 2004 budget, and we are particularly pleased that it will be supported through multilateral funding.

It is not only to UNHCR that we must provide adequate resources but also to the World Food Program. Pipeline breaks and food shortages continue. We are haunted by the human victims at the end of these pipeline breaks. We must not rest until we have solved this problem.

The High Commissioner's statements about fuller partnerships - both with its sister agencies, such as WFP, UNICEF, IOM, and with NGOs - are most welcome and we are interested in how this will be put into action. These partnerships should not be just about funding and filling gaps but rather that be founded on a real commitment to working together as equal partners to assess needs, achieve better care and protection for refugees, and a more seamless transition from relief to development.
As UNHCR and the High commissioner embark on a new term for their mandate - a mandate with no time limitations - our wish for them is strong support from member states, including a recommitment to UNHCR's mandate, improved standards of care and protection, more opportunities to preserve refugee self-reliance while awaiting solutions, and sustainable solutions in safety and in dignity.

we will be addressing protection in greater detail later this week, but I cannot let this opportunity pass without saying that UNHCR and refugee protection are synonymous. Normally if everyone is responsible for something, then no one is. Not so for refugee protection. Every UNHCR staffer is a protection officer; every NGO or other humanitarian worker has protection responsibilities. Legal protection alone is inadequate in today's world. We have to adjust; we have to adapt. UNHCR's protection activities have to encompass the growing physical protection needs. While States have an obligation to ensure the protection and security of refugees, UNHCR also has an obligation to ensure that those under its care are safe from abuse and exploitation.

As addendum, Mr. High Commissioner, I would say that it is not too late for you to reinstate the senior positions for Coordinators for Refugee Women and Refugee Children which we consider important to maintaining UNHCR attention to age and gender policies and programs.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, I want to pay tribute to UNHCR's staff. Humanitarian work is becoming more and more dangerous. The old rules no longer apply. UN officials and NGO aid workers are being increasingly targeted. We have to find a way to balance the need to do our jobs with the security risks. We salute those of you who, despite the risks, continue to give of your best often in extremely difficult circumstances.