Speech #1090043835

Establishing such a fundto be administered by the appropriate government agencywould serve as a first step toward not treating IDPs as an afterthought. It would also serve as a model to the international community that would facilitate an improvement in how we address the sad phenomenon of internal displacement. In summary. let us not neglect IDPs. for their struggle is often just as dangerous as that of refugees. and their courage also merits a tribute today. a tribute that translates to humanitarian action. Today. the worldwide suffering of uprooted peoples continues. There are currently nearly 20 million refugees and other persons of concem to the UNHCR. the majority of whom are women and children. Afghans remain by far the biggest refugee group in the world at 2.1 million. In Sudan. the increase in refugees in 2004 accounted for the largest increase in the world. Sudan produced 125.000 new refugees. mostly people fleeing genocide in the Darfur region to neighboring Chad. The total number of Sudanese refugees worldwide rose to 731.000 in 2004. from 606.000 in 2003. an increase of 20 percent. EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS. Vol. 151. Pt. 10 Recent trends give some room for guarded optimism. On June 17. the UNHCR reported that the global number of refugees fell 4 percent in 2004 to 9.2 million. the lowest total in almost a quarter of a century. Repatriations are also up. In 2004. a total of 1.5 million refugees repatriated voluntarily. an increase of some 400.000 over the previous year. The 2004 returns include 940.000 refugees who went back to Afghanistan and 194.000 who returned to Iraq. In addition. over the past few years. successful repatriation operations in Africa and the countries of former Yugoslavia have reduced significantly the number of people of concern to the UNHCR. In Burma. recent developments are providing a basis on which to plan for the eventual return of refugees in Thailand. Across the globe. resettlement continues expanding through the practice of group resettlement. The UNHCR. with support from the U.S.. has succeeded in helping several million people begin new lives. Despite the good news. though. numerous serious challenges remain. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo. the numbers of refugees increased by 2.4 percent. pushing the total number of Congolese refugees up to 462.000. In Northem Uganda the murderous Lords Resistance Army continues to abduct thousands for use as soldiers and sex slaves. In Burundi. under pressure from Rwanda. the Burundi government recently announced that 10.000 Rwandan asylum seekers who had fled Rwanda since the beginning of April in fear of persecution over the 1994 genocide would not be granted asylum. despite not having been screened to see if they met the definition of a refugee. Already. at least 5.000 of the refugees have been returned to Rwanda. and because the UN was not granted access to the refugees. many fear they were forced to return. In Afghanistan. there is a need for more comprehensive solutions for Afghans still outside their country. and dialogue between the UNHCR and relevant governments and other stakeholders in the Afghanistan situation must continue. In addition. although a peace deal in January officially ended Sudans northsouth conflict. at least 7.500 people had fled into Uganda this year. and refugees and IDPs say that food distribution had stopped in camps inside Sudan. Because of its long history of displacement. and since Africa Refugee Day corresponds with World Refugee Day in many countries. Africa merits special attention in this examination of refugees and IDPs. Africa hosts approximately 3 million refugees. about 30 percent of the worlds total. Africa also hosts 13 million IDPs. or more than halt of the worlds total IDP population. In Africa today. return and reintegration opportunities abound if we can get the politics of peace right.