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High Commissioner's Dialogue on Protection Challenges, 2009
Challenges for People of Concern to UNHCR in Urban Settings
In 2007, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres established a process to facilitate informal discussion of global protection issues by UNHCR, states, academics, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders. This first gathering discussed the connection between asylum and refugee protection and international migration.
The next High Commissioner's Dialogue on Protection Challenges will take place on December 9-10, 2009 in Geneva and focus on the hurdles faced by people of concern to UNHCR in cities and other urban settings. The Dialogue will include a mix of plenary and working group sessions. Participants will be encouraged to engage in free-flowing discussion and debate. Reports of the working group sessions will then be presented in a plenary session which will be followed by an exchange of ideas.
As in previous years, the Dialogue will not be structured to elicit formal or agreed outcomes. The High Commissioner will provide a summary of the discussions, and propose elements for follow up.
A draft agenda and information note, as well as the registration form required of participants are also accessible on this page.
Invitations have been extended to member states of UNHCR's governing Executive Committee and to observers to its Standing Committee; states with a special interest in this year's topic; municipal authorities; non-governmental and inter-governmental organizations; experts and people of concern to UNHCR in urban settings.
The Dialogue will be preceded on December 8 by a roundtable meeting at the Palais de Nations, Geneva, of mayors from some 20 major cities around the world. The purpose of this invitation-only meeting is to promote a free and frank discussion on "Humanitarian Challenges in the Context of Urbanization." It will highlight specific areas of concern and identify areas of good practice. The outcomes of the roundtable gathering will feed into the High Commissioner's Dialogue.
(Visit www.unhcr.fr for documents in French.)
High Commissioner's Dialogue: "Challenges for Persons of Concern in Urban Settings"
Third meeting, Geneva, 9-10 December 2009, Room XIX, Palais des Nations
- Draft Agenda: High Commissioner's Dialogue on Protection Challenges, Third Meeting (9-10 December 2009, Palais des Nations, Room XIX)
Also available in French - Challenges for Persons of Concern to UNHCR in Urban Settings, 26 November 2009
- Inter-Agency Standing Committee Initial Strategy Paper: Meeting Humanitarian Challenges in Urban Areas, November 2009
- Information Note and Registration Form: High Commissioner's Dialogue on Protection Challenges, Third Meeting
- Concept Paper High Commissioner's Dialogue on Protection Challenges: Challenges for Persons of Concern to UNHCR in Urban Settings
Roundtable of Mayors: "Humanitarian Challenges in the Context of Urbanization"
Geneva, 8 December 2009, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Room XXVII, Palais des Nations
