Firstly I would like to welcome Mr. António Guterres as the
UN refugee agency's 10th High Commissioner.
He has joined UNHCR at a momentous time as the UN goes through
a process of challenging reforms including those to the humanitarian
system, at a time when asylum and migration flows create increasing
challenges and when protection of refugees and the internally
displaced must continue to demand our attention.
These are all challenges that we as a Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies face together with UNHCR.
We have welcomed the opportunity to actively participate with
UNHCR in the IASC process aimed at strengthening humanitarian
capacities. We all have much to gain from the work now being
done on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of humanitarian
response.
In our case this very much includes the search for improved
mechanisms for ensuring that the communities affected by emergencies
are themselves integrated into the design, implementation and
evaluation of the relief and recovery programs which are so
central to effective response.
In this context we should not forget that it is those communities
that provide the first front line of humanitarian response.
However the Tsunami and earthquake disaster in the Bay of Bengal
at the end of 2004 and other major disasters show us at the
International Federation that some situations are too much for
those local communities, our national Red Cross and Red Crescent
societies and their national governments. In these situations
the international community must respond quickly and effectively.
However our experience following the tsunami has revealed many
issues which need to be addressed for the future.
These include several points of particular importance for the
International Federation, one of which, relevant here, is the
need for the International Federation to play a much more active
part in working with the UN system particularly in the provision
of shelter to persons affected by natural disasters and the
resulting population movements.
The International Federation looks forward to collaborating
closely with UNHCR in providing greater predictability and capacity
in the areas of shelter, camp coordination and management. In
the provision of shelter following natural disasters we are
currently looking very positively into what leadership would
mean for the International Federation and its member Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies.
As earlier indicated by Jan Egeland, the Emergency Relief Coordinator,
during the panel discussion this question was considered by
our Governing Board last week.
Our Governing Board recognized the considerable capacity gap
in the provision of shelter, the opportunity this provides for
the Federation, and the challenges this request presents to
the Federation, particularly as a non-UN agency. Consequently
we are now in the process of examining the implications of this
request and of providing a detailed proposal to our General
Assembly in November.
We anticipate that proposal will be a positive one if we can
negotiate a special definition for lead agency.
Chairman, we recognize that to effectively address population
movement in a coherent way presents the international community
as a whole and UNHCR in particular with a huge and unfortunately
unresolved challenge.
UNHCR has a special mandate - one which is of vital importance
- but that mandate must remain concentrated on the Protection
function which is so essential for refugees and the internally
displaced.
The debate taking place at the inter-agency level has been encouraging,
and we are pleased to be able to contribute and take part in
those discussions, but whilst they are clearly moving forward
we do not believe that they will necessarily resolve protection
problems.
In this regard we would call upon governments to fulfil their
responsibilities to provide a secure environment for humanitarian
operations that will better ensure protection. Furthermore we
must work with the international humanitarian community to improve
coordination, inter-operability across the humanitarian system
and the strengthening of regional, national and community capacities
in these areas.
Within the inter-agency humanitarian debate we have also attempted
to increase awareness of forgotten and neglected emergencies.
In this respect we are concerned that protracted refugee situations
must continue to receive appropriate attention from the international
community and from UNHCR.
Whilst assistance to these situations must continue to be effectively
provided efforts must also be made into finding a resolution
that enables the affected refugees or IDPs to resume a normal
way of life.
We would stress the value and need to explore and develop alternatives
to camps for the protection and assistance of the displaced.
We would encourage UNHCR to find, where possible, community
based solutions that enable refugees and IDPs to be integrated
in the local communities to decrease the risk of dependency
and protracted assistance.
I shall now briefly mention two further priority points for
us in the population movement agenda. Each is within the UNHCR
agenda, but each is also dealt with by other global or regional
bodies. Each is of high priority for many National Societies
as well, in many cases, for national or even local reasons:
Population movement and Migration is and will remain
a normal part of human behaviour. We have said many times, and
say again today, that it is essential that all governments develop
migration policies for their countries which recognise that
population movement is a fact of normal life. These policies
should aims at creating conditions in which people and their
families can move with dignity and bring their contributions
to the economies, societies and cultures of the countries to
which they move.
For this reason, there needs to be a stronger linkage between
UNHCR and organisations - including the IFRC - committed to
tolerance and work against discrimination. Tolerance and mutual
respect is vital to the work of UNHCR particularly with asylum-seekers
who must receive sensitivity and care in the messages and support
they receive from officials and communities in countries of
arrival, whatever their circumstances.
Trafficking of Human Beings has become a major issue
for many National Societies. It arises almost everywhere in
the world, especially because of the combination of major contributing
reasons like sexual exploitation and forced labour.
Almost every country is either a source, a destination or a
transit route, sometimes all three. It involves criminal organisations,
and has proved easy to politicise in some countries. But the
essential concern for us is the plight of the victims of trafficking.
We would like to see all governments commit themselves to supporting
those rendered vulnerable by trafficking, and to support programs
aimed at eliminating the conditions which make trafficking seem
a viable alternative to poverty and despair at home.
Chairman, we are in active discussion with the Office of the
High Commissioner now on ensuring that HCR is able to bring
National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies more effectively
into its network of humanitarian delivery.
This is important worldwide, and our expectation is that the
result will be much easier program implementation arrangements
when the need arises, as it regrettably but inevitably will.
We wish to stress today our commitment to partnerships.
We were very pleased that both the Emergency Relief Coordinator
and the High Commissioner have expressed their appreciation
for excellent cooperation with the Red Cross / Red Crescent
Movement. We would like to see this further strengthened in
the future, and we would like to look for ways of deepening
the relationship at the national level and down to the community
level.
I close with a special tribute to other populations - those
who live in the proximity of refugees and asylum seekers and
whose communities and volunteers daily perform those essential
neighbourly functions without which no international program
could function effectively.
Each year there is reference to these neighbourhood communities
in speeches at EXCOM, but too little is done to recognise and
support them as they go about their work.
Last year we referred to them in a different way, by speaking
of the very large number of displaced persons who are not in
camps, but are cared for by communities.
Our hope is that next year there can be progress reported by
all stakeholder - governments, international organisations and
civil societies - as the result of a more comprehensive coordination
mechanism addressing requirements at the international level
to recognize, support and strengthen the contributions local
communities and their governments make to refugees and the displaced.
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