High Commissioner in Tajikistan
Briefing Notes, 1 April 2008
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 1 April 2008, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
High Commissioner António Guterres is on the second day of a three-day visit to the Republic of Tajikistan. Yesterday (Monday), Guterres met President Emomali Rahmon as well as the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Labour and Interior. He had fruitful discussions on the integration of some 1,000 Afghans who have been refugees in Tajikistan for up to 20 years, as well as on the improvement of the national asylum systems in the country. Over the past 15 years, UNHCR has enjoyed an excellent working relationship with the Government of Tajikistan.
Today, Mr. Guterres will be visiting projects outside Dushanbe, and tomorrow he will be returning to attend the opening of vocational training projects at a refugee training centre in the capital.
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.
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
Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie joined UNHCR chief António Guterres on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where they met with boat people who have fled unrest in North Africa.
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
UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie visits Ecuador
Angelina Jolie, in Ecuador this past weekend, on her first field visit as the new Special Envoy of UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres.
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
World Refugee Day 2009 event with UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie
To mark the launch of activities in the United States for World Refugee Day, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie appeared alongside UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres at an event at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C. on 18 June 2009. The event, which was hosted by UNHCR and moderated by NBC television anchor Ann Curry, included a live feed from the Djabal refugee camp in eastern Chad, where a UNHCR staff member on the ground spoke to the assembled audience.
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.
Mauritania: A Desert Visit
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres travels to north-west Mauritania to visit some of the world's most isolated refugees.
South Sudan: Appeal for Doro Camp
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres visits refugees in South Sudan and says international assistance is "absolutely crucial.”
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