EU Presidency Statement - Report of UN High Commissioner for Refugees

EU Presidency Statement on Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees by the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations on behalf of the European Union, Item 42: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, questions relating to refugees, returnees and displaced persons and humanitarian questions, United Nations General Assembly Sixtieth Session, Third Committee, New York

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey and Croatia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

The European Union would like to congratulate the High Commissioner on his new appointment and thank him for his thorough and informative report on the work of his office during 2005. The EU offers its thanks and appreciation to all those who work for the protection of refugees in the field, for their courage and commitment. In particular, we offer our deepest respect and sympathy to humanitarian workers who have been killed or injured in the last year.

UNHCR has had another challenging year. The number of protracted refugee situations is increasing, new emergencies have arisen and, notably, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur continues. The recent attack on Aro Sharrow camp was gravely concerning. We urge all parties to the conflict to stop immediately all violence and to reach a lasting peace agreement without delay. We offer our gratitude to Chad and all the other refugee-hosting countries in the region for their generosity and hospitality. We welcome the peace accord for Southern Sudan, and support UNHCR's work to improve conditions for people returning spontaneously as a result.

A number of significant challenges this year have demanded a response at extremely short notice. In particular, the EU welcomes the roles played by UNHCR and the governments of Kyrgyzstan and Romania in satisfactorily resolving the threatened return of Uzbek refugees.

The year has also seen some notable advances. More than 2.5 million refugees have now repatriated to Afghanistan from Pakistan. The last season of voluntary returns to Angola is underway. The increase in returns to Burundi suggests that another significant repatriation movement is also in prospect. Congolese, who sought refuge in neighbouring countries, are now returning to relatively stable parts of the DRC.

The EU acknowledges the burden borne by other regions in protecting refugees, particularly where refugee situations have become protracted, and is willing to help and contribute in the spirit of solidarity. To this end, last month, the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council endorsed conclusions on pilot Regional Protection Programmes. These aim, through EU collaboration with UNHCR and host countries, to improve the protection of the persons concerned, and to find sustainable solutions to their plight - including, where appropriate, resettlement.

The regional protection programmes are complementary to the EU's efforts towards the establishment of a Common European Asylum System. The main legal instruments on asylum adopted by the EU to date all aim at the objective of creating a level playing field for asylum, which gives protection to those who require it and deals fairly and efficiently with those without protection requirements. The Commission will now start the necessary work to achieve the ambitious objective of establishing a Common European Asylum System by 2010, as set out in the Hague Programme. To this effect, the Commission will have to take stock of the assessment and monitoring of the implementation of the already adopted asylum instruments, and build on the results of the intensified practical cooperation between the asylum services of Member States, as asked for by the Hague Programme. Practical cooperation will be essential in order to create the necessary level of convergence between the practices of Member States, which will allow for the establishment of a Common European Asylum System.

In the context of large migratory and mixed flows, the EU is fully engaged in the identification of those individuals who are entitled to asylum or to receiving different forms of international protection. However, there is still room for all stakeholders concerned to address better the misuse of asylum systems for economic and migration-related purposes, thus preserving the high importance and value of the institution of asylum itself.

The EU welcomes the adoption of a number of important decisions and conclusions during the last EXCOM. These will contribute towards strengthening co-operation on protection and assistance globally. Conclusions were adopted on International Protection, on Provision of International Protection through forms of Complementary Protection and on Local Integration. Decisions were taken to create a new post of Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, to upgrade the Resettlement Section to a Resettlement Service, and to enhance the independence of the Inspector General's Office. The latter is a welcome move towards improving the accountability and transparency of UNHCR management.

The EU welcomes the continued efforts of UNHCR both to improve its own protection services and to strengthen the international community's capacity to protect. We also welcome the widespread introduction of Project Profile. However, there remains a continuing shortage of protection staff on the ground and, once again, we urge UNHCR management to prioritise protection in their allocation of staff posts.

Effective protection is also dependent on productive relations between UNHCR and its partners, including NGOs but especially other UN Agencies. When working in countries where refugees are returning home, we encourage UNHCR to ensure that exit and hand-over strategies have been defined from the outset, to prevent UNHCR from investing resources in development activities where other agencies may have the comparative advantage.

The need for greater co-ordination is especially acute when it comes to protecting internally displaced people. The EU is pleased that UNHCR is addressing the issue of IDPs, and defining its role in support of the inter-agency collaborative response. We welcome UNHCR's undertaking to assume lead responsibility for the three areas of protection, camp management and shelter in new IDP crises, under the overall responsibility of the Humanitarian Coordinator and the Emergency Relief Co-ordinator. We also agree with UNHCR that its mandate remains its first priority and that refugee protection should not be negatively affected by UNHCR's involvement with IDPs.

We continue to support UNHCR's move towards needs based programme planning and budgeting, and encourage senior management to make sure that the incentives are in place to ensure this happens.

The EU looks forward to working closely with UNHCR on all these issues over the coming months. Thank you for your attention.


* Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

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