World Refugee Day

World Refugee Day

Samuel M. Witten

Acting Assistant Secretary

Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration

National Geographic Society

Washington, DC

June 19, 2009

http://www.state.gov/g/prm/rls/remarks/125180.htm

First, I would like to relay to all of you Secretary Clinton’s regrets that she could not be with us today. She was planning on joining these proceedings for World Refugee Day to express her personal commitment to the plight of refugees and reaffirm the U.S. Government’s support for UNHCR and the other organizations serving refugees.

On behalf of the Secretary, and the State Department, I want to thank the National Geographic Society for hosting World Refugee Day. I want to express our appreciation to Ann Curry for hosting us today, and for her commitment to journalistic excellence and for reporting on conflicts and the displaced all around the world. And I want to thank and acknowledge Angelina Jolie for her tireless efforts as Goodwill Ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She has done fabulous work to help increase international attention to the needs of refugees and other persons of concern to UNHCR, thereby providing a voice to those whose plight often goes unheard.

World Refugee Day is an opportunity to reflect on the lives of millions of refugees who have been forced to flee tyranny and conflict. It is also a time to honor their courage and resilience, and to recognize the contribution of those who have been able to return to their communities or have sought new lives in their country of refuge or resettled in a third country.

The theme of this year’s World Refugee Day is “Real People, Real Needs,” and the posters of three young people here today tell the story better than I can. On this day we also salute the courage, the determination and the resilience of refugees. Today we will hear from Kagendra and Ganga Baral, Bhutanese refugees resettled in Phoenix. They will tell the story of their flight, their struggles as refugees, and the new life they now have in the United States.

 We will also hear from Rose Mapendo, a resettled refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo and a founder of Mapendo International, an organization that protects vulnerable African refugees and resettles them to the United States. Rose survived 16 months of imprisonment in the DRC.

I want to end my brief remarks by paying tribute to UNHCR and its staff for their amazing efforts to improve the plight of humanity by assisting nearly 32 million refugees and others of concern around the world, often putting their own lives at risk. Much of UNHCR’s work takes place in difficult and dangerous places. We note with sadness the senseless loss of life of UN humanitarian workers in Pakistan this month, including from UNHCR. While refugees continue to face challenges throughout the world, some languishing in refugee camps without a solution in sight, it is encouraging to see the progress being made by the international community in resolving longstanding refugee situations in places such as Liberia, South Sudan, Burundi, and Bhutan.

I’m very proud that the United States is the world leader in supporting UNHCR, and am grateful for our wonderful partnership with High Commissioner Antonio Guterres and his terrific staff. We are proud to be UNHCR’s strongest donor and supporter, covering approximately 25% of UNHCR’s budget. In Fiscal Year 2008, we contributed over $500 million in support of UNHCR programs.

The United States is working hard to enable those who have fled to return home in safety and dignity, and to provide those unable to return home either an opportunity to locally integrate in their countries of asylum or to start their lives anew in the United States. Our commitment to resettling refugees remains strong, with our history of resettling the largest number of refugees per year.

Finally, I would like to recognize and congratulate the winners of the poster competition and welcome them to Washington. We appreciate the fine work of UNHCR, the participating schools, teachers and children for raising awareness of the needs of refugees around the world – including the needs of refugee youth. This effort by American school childr

en to reach out to children less fortunate than themselves is in the best tradition of America.

PRESS STATEMENT, WORLD REFUGEE DAY: REAL PEOPLE, REAL NEEDS.

This year 2009, all Refugees around the world live in the most critical situation. The on going suffering of Refugees life is challenge by the global economic crisis. While the world populations are facing retrenchment, it has been worst for the Refugees situation. In some host countries, the Refugees are not recognized. Therefore they are not allow to work. They are not able to feed themselves and their families. Those who are working are not paid for months and cheated. This has become the second biggest issue for Refugees beside their legal status in host countries.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. Antonio Guterres has expressed his anxiety over the possible decrease of funding from donors countries due to current global economic crisis. What more with us the Refugees? The anxiety among Refugees are unexplainable without a job and legal status.

 At the end of 2008, the number of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) around the world stood at 47 million. Though the number is decreased from the previous year but the number of IDP is increasing in 2009. This issue must be addressed urgently by the relevant agencies before it become worst and forcing this population to flee the countries and become refugees.

In the current difficult situation, we urge the source, host and receiving countries of refugees to push aside the greediness and selfishness for the sake of vulnerable Refugees population. The legal status, employment, health care and education remains the significant issues for Refugees around the world and must be given priority.

 The United Nations agencies especially the UNHCR and UN Security Council must increase their dialog and active interventions with the source, host and receiving countries for the protection of Refugees.  Realizing that 80 % of the host countries are developing countries, the United Nations agencies and the develop countries must work hand in hand with the host countries to reduce their burden. 

The Burma issue is not an internal issue. It is a world issue that needs the world intervention. The change cannot come from inside as the people of Burma were oppressed by the junta. Now, it is the responsibility of the International Community and World Leaders together with the UN Security Council to resolve the long pending humanitarian crisis in Burma.

Everyone have the significant role to play. We applaud the Malaysian government for working together with the UNHCR to stop deportation of Burmese Refugees to Thailand border. However we hope that the Malaysian government will also stop the arrest on refugees and allow us to work to continue living. By doing this, we could contribute to the country economic growth. 

 We hope for the UNHCR and the Resettlement Countries not to exclude Rohingya Refugees in the Resettlement program. At the moment very small number of Rohingya Refugees in Malaysia resettled in the third countries. 

We urge the Non-governmental Organizations who work on the Refugees issue to genuinely work for the course of Refugees and not to discriminate and practice double standards toward Refugees from different ethnic groups. All refugees must be treated equally regardless of race, religion, ethnic etc. All Refugees must have the rights to seek for Permanent Solution and not Temporary Solution forever.

We seek for the better treatment for Refugees around the world. We hope the tragic incident such as the bad treatment of the Thai government to the Rohingya boat people in December 2008 will never happen again. 

We search for the better future from the current darkness and uncertainty.

 Thank you.

 Yours sincerely,                  

 Mr.Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani

President of Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM

Tel No: 6016-6827287

Protests marking Suu Kyi birthday

Activists across the world are marking the 64th birthday of Burma’s detained opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, with vigils and protests.

Celebrities including author Salman Rushdie and actors George Clooney and Julia Roberts have signed an online petition demanding that she be freed.

The European Union has also renewed its calls for her “unconditional release”.

Burma’s military rulers have held the Nobel Peace Prize winner under house arrest for most of the past 19 years.

She is currently on trial for breaking the terms of her detention.

Aung San Suu Kyi was charged after an American man swam to the house where she is being held, and stayed there overnight.

 

Inside Burma’s Insein prison Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi

Observers say the charges – which carry a maximum punishment of five years in jail – are designed to keep Ms Suu Kyi imprisoned until after a general election which the junta has scheduled for next year.

While she is on trial, Ms Suu Kyi is imprisoned in Rangoon’s Insein jail – a notorious facility where many political prisoners are held.

Protesters in at least 20 cities – from Geneva to Kuala Lumpur – are marking her birthday with calls for her to be set free.

The BBC’s Jonathan Head, in Bangkok, says one of the most poignant events was the small celebration at the Rangoon headquarters of her political party, the National League for Democracy.

Her supporters there released balloons and small birds, and made offerings of food to Buddhist monks in her honour.

Burmese exile groups have launched a website called “64 for Suu” and invited celebrities, politicians and members of the public to send a 64-word birthday message to Ms Suu Kyi.

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Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters in Manila made a birthday cake and and spelled out the words “not guilty” with hundreds of red roses

In his message, British tycoon Richard Branson called her a “shining light for us all”.

Another message came from a group of female Nobel Peace Prize laureates including Guatemalan rights activist Rigoberta Menchu and US anti-landmine campaigner Jody Williams.

They said: “Your imprisonment and trial are a stark illustration of the brutality and lawlessness of the Burmese military regime.”

European Union leaders also joined the chorus of celebrities, activists and political leaders calling for Ms Suu Kyi’s release.

“Unless she is released, the credibility of the 2010 elections will be further undermined and the EU will respond with appropriate measures,” a European Council draft statement said.

Ms Suu Kyi has been under house arrest and banned from seeing all but a small group of people for 13 of the past 19 years.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8108473.stm

PRESS STATEMENT DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI’S 64th BIRTHDAY – AN INTERPRETATION OF A BARBARIC MILITARY RULER.

PRESS STATEMENT

19^th June 2009

 Dear Chief Editor,

DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI’S 64^th BIRTHDAY – AN INTERPRETATION OF A BARBARIC MILITARY RULER.

Today is Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s 64^th Birthday but this date is not to be celebrated by her or the people of Burma. All the people of Burma are waiting for her release at the end of May 2009. The day that bring change to the future of the people of Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi is going to have power but junta will never allow this to happen in order to sustain their power. Despite of her release she was arrested again and facing 5-7 years imprisonment.

Despite of the International pressure, the military junta remains stubborn and arrogant. The International pressure does not have any impact on Aung San Suu Kyi’s plight. Recently the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and his Special Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari have received a petition from over 670 000 people around the world urging them to pressure military junta to release all political prisoners. The signatures were collected in 220 countries. It was very sad to see very small number of the world population supporting the petition to release the political prisoners. The Burmese people are hoping for more support and pressure from the International Community to bring change in Burma.

We hope for the bright future with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, but we were taken backward with her unjustified arrest. There must be a genuine effort to end the gross human rights violations in Burma.

Today the people around the world celebrate her birthday but it was meaningless with her being in the prison waiting for the sentence. She suffered from health problems while in the prison. But we do not know whether she have the access to medical treatment or not. Together with her, there were another 2100 political prisoners in the prisons. They were continuously abused and tortured by the military junta and being in the prison for a very long period.

 Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM) urges the United Nations to take stern action against the military ruler. The General Than Shwe and others involved must be brought to the International Court of Justice for the humanitarian crime they committed. The delay in doing this will only allow them to kill more people and increase the number of the Burmese refugees in the region.

 Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

 Mr.Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani

President Of Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM)

Tel No: 016-6827287