UNHCR chief praises Australia's refugee resettlement services
News Stories, 25 February 2009
© UNHCR/B.Farrell
High Commissioner António Guterres with Australia's Minister for Immigration Chris Evans after their meeting in Canberra.
SYDNEY, Australia, February 25 (UNHCR) – UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres paid tribute on Wednesday to Australia for the welcome and services it provides to refugees in communities around the nation.
"Australia has one of the best refugee resettlement programmes in the world," Guterres said during a visit to the Fairfield Migrant Resource Centre in Sydney, adding that he had conveyed this message to Minister for Immigration Chris Evans during a meeting on Monday in Canberra.
"It has been wonderful to speak to refugees and former refugees about their experiences since being welcomed to Australia," added the High Commissioner, who on Tuesday visited refugee communities in Sydney and Melbourne. "Australia has a proud history of welcoming refugees into the community, and that has been reflected in many of the personal stories I have heard."
Guterres said he looked forward to "continued and close cooperation with the government and civil society to help refugees here and worldwide." He was due to make an address later Wednesday about the importance of government and donors maintaining generous support for humanitarian projects in the face of the global financial crisis. Australia announced on Monday that it will increase its aid to international efforts to resettle refugees this fiscal year by almost a third.
The High Commissioner was due to leave Australia late Wednesday for New Zealand, where he will discuss refugee issues with government officials and non-governmental organizations. New Zealand is also a resettlement country.
"New Zealand resettles around 750 refugees and provides additional sponsored family reunification for 300 family members of refugees each year," Guterres noted, while adding that the country "has an excellent reputation for welcoming refugees and assisting them with the education, health and other services they need to make a new and successful life."
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
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
Nansen Award presentation for the late Senator Edward Kennedy
UNHCR's annual Nansen Refugee Award was posthumously awarded to Senator Edward Kennedy at a ceremony in Washington DC on October 29 for his life-long commitment to refugee rights. Kennedy's wife, Victoria, accepted the award on behalf of her late husband. In presenting the award, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, praised the "vision and commitment" of Senator Kennedy in his support for the displaced.
The prize money of US$100,000 will be donated to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, where it will be used to train the next generation of leaders dedicated to the cause of refugee advocacy. The Nansen Award is given to an individual or organization for outstanding work on behalf of refugees. It was created in 1954 in honour of Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian polar explorer, scientist and the first global High Commissioner for Refugees.
Nansen Award presentation for the late Senator Edward Kennedy
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.”
ExCom: Guterres Warning
High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres opens the annual meeting of UNHCR's governing committee with a warning that displacement crises are multiplying and becoming more unpredictable.
21st Century Skills
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres speaks about the use of computer technology to empower refugees.
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