Speech #1090043835

Although the presence of the AU force in Darfur promises some protection. it will never be sufficient. A country of concern that is often forgotten is Western Sahara. a swath of land in West Africa that lies along the Atlantic Ocean. In camps in Algeria. about 165.000 refugees from Western Sahara. a country that has been occupied illegally by Morocco since 1975. continue to live in "deplorable conditions." according to a recent report from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The government of Morocco has promised the people of Western Sahara. the Sahrawi. a vote to determine their own future. However. more than a decade later. that vote has yet to occur. and Morocco continues to disregard international law. No progress has been made in UN efforts to find a solution to the dispute between Morocco and the Sahrawis. The U.S. must put pressure on Morocco. not only to end the exile and suffering of Sahrawi refugees. but also to allow a free. fair and transparent referendum to determine the countrys future and prevent the creation of more refugees. Another source of concern is Tanzania. A generous host of refugees over the last 30 years. Tanzania continues to host Africas largest number of refugees. However. recently. a troubling policy shift seems to have emerged. reflecting an increasingly harsh stance towards refugees. Local and national politicians are feeling increasing pressure from their constituencies due to the perception that refugees receive more attention and assistance than local communities and have in some cases publicly blamed them for crime and the spread of disease. In 2004. the government frequently did not provide protection against refoulement. the return of persons to a country where they feared persecution. on a number of occasions. the government retouled refugees and refused persons seeking asylum or refugee status. In addition. the government at times did not cooperate with the UNHCR during 2004. Although repatriations of Burundian refugees living in Tanzania continues. the U.S. and the international community must engage Tanzania regularly to ensure that the country does not tum its back on those in need. and on decades of humanitarian tradition. At the least. we must listen to Tanzanias concems and explore options to provide more support to what has traditionally been the most hospitable country in Africa for refugees. The best solution for refugees is voluntary repatriation. or going back to ones original homeland once all the key conditions are in place. However. for some people who fled their homes amid conflict and widespread human rights abuses. returning is still a distant prospect. For this reason. finding creative solutions for meeting the needs of refugees and the local populations that host them is critical. One example is the Zambian Initiative. a governmentled "Development through Local Integration Project" established in 2002. The Zambian Initiative has promoted a holistic approach in addressing the needs of refugees and Zambians living in refugee hosting areas in the Western Province of Zambia. By facilitating cooperation between the host communities and the refugees. the UNHCR and the Zambian government have enabled the production of food and housing. thus alleviating the effects of a food deficit. poor infrastructure and limited access to services and economic opportunities. The presence of refugees can stretch local resources and infrastructure and exacerbate poverty. However. in Zambia. local development committees involve the local populations and refugees by identifying needs and projects in areas such as health and education. While voluntary repatriation of Angolan refugees continues. the Zambian Initiative has created a sense of ownership while pursuing durable solutions for refugees through local integration. We must commend and encourage EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS. Vol. 151. Pt. 10 this type of innovative approach to refugees and the pressure their presence can place on local populations. Let us use World Refugee Day to call for more such innovation. so that refugees will not be trapped in the same sad status quo. The donor response to the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004 was admirable and generated unprecedented worldrecord contributions. thanks in part to the dramatic nature of the tsunami. its effects on numerous countries. and its timing. the day after Christmas. However. other humanitarian catastrophes. especially the needs of refugees and IDPs in Africa. remain virtually ignored. As UN Humanitarian Coordinator Jan Egeland has pointed out. in many ways. Africa has a silent tsunami several times each year. If you look at the numbers in Sudan or the Democratic Republic of the Congo. you see that the impact of conflict on refugees and IDPs is equivalent to a tsunami every few months. Today. we have an opportunity to honor the courage of refugees and IDPs by recognizing the magnitude of their suffering. but to do this we must act out of the same compassion that drove us to alleviate the suffering of the tsunami victims. The UNHCR is working hard to resolve many of the protracted situations around the world. But it is a labor and resourceintensive endeavor. requiring sustained international attention and continuing donor support. including support from the United States. The same is true of UNHCRs advocacy efforts and its work to ensure a smooth transition from repatriation to reintegration. rehabilitation and reconstruction so that refugees can go home and stay home. The results show that an investment in solutions is a good investment indeed. The U.S. has shown great hospitality and generosity in hosting and assisting refugees and other displaced people. In 2004. the U.S. welcomed 52.000 refugees from Africa. Asia. the Middle East. and Latin America. In absolute terms. the U.S. continues to be the leading donor to UNHCR and for humanitarian assistance to refugees worldwide. However. as a proportion of national wealth. the U.S. contribution to refugees and IDPs lags far behind most western countries. The persistent failure of donor government. including the U.S.. to provide funding for relief efforts is the most critical flaw in the humanitarian aid process today. The UN Consolidated Appeal (CAP) is a collaborative assessment of the minimal financial commitment necessary to provide essential emergency assistance in humanitarian crises. Despite the CAP. all assistance programming is underfunded by almost 35 percent every year. leaving tens of millions of men. women. and children around the world to suffer needlessly. The recurring shortfall in financial assistance is not the only thing hindering our response to the refugee and IDP crises of the world. In the last five years. global food aid has dropped by nearly 50 percent. despite an 8 percent increase in the number of chronically hungry people in the world. In addition. funding delays continue to jeopardize the progress of emergency relief for refugees and IDPs. In Somalia in recent years for example. nearly 50 percent of all funds received for emergency assistance arrived in the last quarter of the year. And currently. reportedly due to bureaucratic delay. the U.S. has still not contributed any funds to the UNHCR operation in Darfur. although we are already in the second half of 2005. The U.S. must act as a leader to address the persistent and damaging delays in funding for refugees and IDPs. If the U.S. wants to reform the UN and render the international donor community more effective. this is a good place to start. Therefore. I call on the Bush administration and other members of the international community to increase financial commitments to humanitarian appeals for refugees and IDPs. At the least. the international community should pledge to provide 75 percent of the aid requested in the CAP pledge in order to ensure that the most critical emergency relief programs remain funded. Many prosperous countries with strong economies complain about the large number of asylum seekers and refugees. but they offer little to prevent refugee crises. Humanitarian action is of limited value it it does not form part of a wider strategic and political framework aimed at addressing the root causes of conflict. Experience has shown time and time again that humanitarian action alone cannot solve problems which are fundamentally political in nature. Yet all too often. humanitarian organizations like the UNHCR have found themselves isolated and alone in dangerous and difficult situations (such as Darfur). where they have had to operate without adequate financial and political support. Therefore. we must invest in lasting solutions: conflict prevention. return. and reintegration. We must support the UNHCRs efforts to ensure international protection and assistance to refugees and IDPs through a range of solutions. including improved management of operations. We must not demonstrate a lack of political commitment to solving refugee problems during the postconflict phase. when the spotlight of the international media has moved away. We must more fully recognize the link between human displacement and international peace and security. History has shown that displacement is not only a consequence of conflicts. it can also cause conflict. Without human security. there can be no peace and stability. The U.S. must recognize the link between refugees and IDPs. on the one hand. and stability and the seeds of democracy on the other. If we are to honor the courage of refugees and IDPs today. we must come together with the UNHCR. nongovernmental organizations. and other donor governments to actively pursue durable solutions. If we fail to do so. refugees and IDPs will remain in their miserable conditionssurviving on a handful of maize each day. living in immense boredom under windblown tents. and clinging to their hope amid memories of atrocities. On World Refugee Day and every other day. let us show the refugees and IDPs that we are with them. Having endured conflict. rape. abduction. trafficking. chronic hunger. squalor. and other unspeakable suffering. the courage of refugees and IDPs has been tested beyond what we can imagine. However. despite their courage. they remain vulnerable to the loss of hope. If we will allow them to lose hope. we allow them to lose courage.