High Commissioner Guterres heads to Tajikistan
Briefing Notes, 28 March 2008
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 28 March 2008, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
High Commissioner António Guterres starts a three-day visit to the Republic of Tajikistan on Monday. He is expected to meet President Emomali Rahmon and various other key ministers. They will discuss improvement of the national asylum systems in the country; the integration of some 1,000 Afghans who have been refugees in Tajikistan for up to 20 years; and further cooperation between UNHCR and the country. Over the past 15 years, UNHCR has enjoyed an excellent working relationship with the Government of Tajikistan.
In the course of the visit, the High Commissioner will also participate in the official opening of vocational training projects established at a refugee training centre in Dushanbe.
In 1993, Tajikistan was the first country in Central Asia to accede to the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol on the status of refugees. It was also the first country to adopt national refugee legislation. Tajikistan currently hosts 1,710 refugees and asylum seekers, mostly from Afghanistan.
This is the third mission the High Commissioner has made to Central Asia, following his visits to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in November last year. He is also planning to visit Turkmenistan in the near future.
Prior to his Central Asia mission, Mr. Guterres will attend an Arab heads summit in Damascus, Syria, over the weekend.
António Guterres, who joined UNHCR on June 15, 2005, is the UN refugee agency's 10th High Commissioner.
Angelina Jolie meets boat people in Malta, Lampedusa
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More than 40,000 people, including refugees and asylum-seekers, have crossed the Mediterranean on overcrowded boats and descended on the small island since the beginning of the year.
The UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador flew to Lampedusa from Malta, which has also been a destination for people fleeing North Africa by boat.
Angelina Jolie meets boat people in Malta, Lampedusa
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In her previous role as a UN refugee agency Goodwill Ambassador, Jolie has conducted more than 40 field visits over the last decade. This is her third time in Ecuador - home to the largest refugee population in Latin America.
Ecuador currently hosts some 56,000 refugees and 21,000 asylum-seekers. It continues to receive 1,300 new applications for refugee status each month from people fleeing Colombia. Many live in remote and poor areas of the country close to the Colombian border.
UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie visits Ecuador
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Each year UNHCR sponsors a World Refugee Day poster contest under the patronage of Angelina Jolie for school children in the US. The theme of this year's contest is "Real People, Real Needs" and a winner from each of three age groups - elementary, middle and high school -- was presented with an award at the event. In addition, Rose Mapendo, a refugee from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, who has started her own NGO for victims of conflict, was presented with the USA's Humanitarian of the Year award.
World Refugee Day 2009 event with UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie in Ecuador
Angelina Jolie meets Colombian refugees in Ecuador during her first field visit as Special Envoy of the High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres.
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