YouSaid · the spoken record

Grandi

lines on the record: 204
first: 2017-11-02
most recent: 2023-10-31
sittings or episodes: 8
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Hence the crucial importance of the continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. But this is also about safeguarding development cooperation as an essential tool to make communities resilient and immune to the shocks of cyclical crises, breaking the terrible spiral of disaster, conflict and displacement. Secondly, seriously strengthening peacebuilding is key — for example, by reinforcing, much better than is usually done, the capacity of the police, the judiciary, local Government and overall rule of law in fragile countries. We at UNHCR have a good vantage point on this because peacebuilding is crucial to resolving displacement — by allowing refugees to return home, for example — and of course, from the Council’s perspective — by preventing the recurrence of conflict.”
2022-11-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9178 (2022) · source
“I have focused on the climate emergency and its relationship with conflict and displacement to convey the enormous complexity of refugee crises today. I am sometimes worried that such complexity is lost in the frequently simplistic debate over population flows. Let me therefore conclude my remarks by drawing the Council’s attention to four areas. First, we need more resources. Humanitarian aid is under enormous pressure. Despite a record level of income, including $1 billion from private donors, UNHCR faces a major funding gap this year in some of its crucial operations. Food aid for refugees, as a case in point, has been cut in many operations for lack of funding — despite the help of the United States and other States present here — at a time where food insecurity is growing, including as a result of the war in Ukraine.”
2022-11-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9178 (2022) · source
“It is therefore clear that responses to climate change must take into account both its link to conflict and the displacement it causes, dimensions that I hope will be in clearer focus than in the past at the upcoming twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. On our side, we have stepped up our legal support to States, increased our operational response for those displaced by climate and conflict — such as in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and Mozambique — increased efforts to reduce the environmental damage caused by massive displacement —such as in the Niger and Bangladesh — and used artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to try and at least prepare for displacement of this nature. But this is clearly not enough.”
2022-11-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9178 (2022) · source
“The confluence of climate change and conflict has created very protracted displacement. Therefore, inclusion and, where possible, integration, both in refugee contexts and situations of internal displacement, are important peacebuilding measures that require greater international recognition and support. There are many hotspots affected by this spiral. I am extremely worried about the situation throughout the Sahel, for example, where the convergence of climate change, poverty and weak governance with the action of armed groups, and the often-brutal reaction of Governments, have already displaced 3 million people, including — increasingly — to coastal states like yours, Mr President, as well as to North Africa and Europe.”
2022-11-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9178 (2022) · source
“People who had outlived conflict just to have their last remaining coping mechanisms — their crops and their cattle — die before their eyes. There and elsewhere, conflict is also an obstacle to relief, as humanitarians are often prevented from helping people in their places of origin by insecurity and fighting. Those affected are therefore forced to move, sometimes when they are too weak to make the journey. And sometimes across borders as well. I met Somali refugees pushed into already drought- affected areas of Kenya, which, despite its own challenges, has provided extraordinary hospitality to refugees for generations. As I discussed with President Ruto last week, Kenya is making a landmark shift from encampment of refugees to inclusion — a transition that I hope all will robustly support.”
2022-11-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9178 (2022) · source
“That creates tensions, often of intercommunal nature, especially in already fragile contexts where Governments do not have the assets, or even control of territory, to support adaptation and resilience strategies and programmes. I fear that, without more attention and much greater financing for prevention, adaptation and development and governance support, tensions, frustrations and competition will grow and spark wider conflict, with deadly consequences, including displacement. And what is a starker example of what we call loss and damage than being displaced and dispossessed from one’s home? Last week in Somalia I met emaciated men, women and children who had walked for days to get help. Mothers whose children had died en route.”
2022-11-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9178 (2022) · source
“Those crises, and many more, including the countless protracted situations like those of Afghan and Syrian refugees, and some of the multiple, complex population flows in the Americas, are not only fading from media attention, but they are being failed by global inaction. And displacement is becoming increasingly complex. New factors are forcing people to flee, intersecting with traditional drivers of displacement, especially the climate emergency. I am aware that the link between climate and security has been much-debated. From my perspective I simply wish to highlight a few practical points showing the intersection between climate change and displacement, which in many situations includes a clear connection with conflict as well. We know that climate change is ravaging resources that have sustained communities for generations.”
2022-11-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9178 (2022) · source
“We are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where brutal attacks, including revolting accounts of sexual violence against women, has added more than 200,000 people to the 5.5 million already displaced in the country. On Sunday, the Secretary-General expressed deep concern about the surge in hostilities between the Congolese army and the Mouvement du 23 Mars. I worked as a field officer in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 25 years ago. It is hard to believe that the horrors I witnessed back then are repeating themselves, with displacement once again being both a consequence of conflict and a complicating factor in the web of local and international tensions. Surely we can do better in trying to bring peace to that beleaguered region.”
2022-11-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9178 (2022) · source
“The recent surge in the conflict is having an even more devastating impact on civilians. Please be united in urging a positive outcome to the talks between the parties taking place in South Africa, as their failure would no doubt bring more death, destruction and displacement and further restrict our already limited ability to reach those in need, in Tigray and other regions. We are in Myanmar, where an estimated 500,000 people were displaced in the first six months of this year, with humanitarian access remaining a huge challenge, and where, I must recall, conditions for the return of almost 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, where options for them are limited, remain a very distant possibility.”
2022-11-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9178 (2022) · source
“And given the likely protracted nature of the military situation, we are maintaining a high level of preparedness for further population movements, both inside and outside the country, while taking into account different possible scenarios and the scope and limitations of humanitarian assistance. But I do not need to remind the Council that it is not only Ukraine where conflict has driven people from their homes. In the past 12 months alone, UNHCR has responded to 37 emergencies around the world. Yet the other crises are failing to capture the same international attention, outrage, resources or action. UNHCR is trying to be present wherever there is forced displacement. We are with the people of Ethiopia — more than 850,000 of whom were displaced in the first half of this year.”
2022-11-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9178 (2022) · source
“Increasingly, the focus of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is on helping displaced people in Ukraine, working under the Government’s able leadership. Of the neighbouring countries, Moldova continues to need special attention, given its vulnerability. Meanwhile in the European Union, we have seen an open, well-managed and, above all, shared refugee response that has proven wrong many of the statements frequently repeated by some politicians — that Europe is full, that relocation is impossible and that there is no public support for refugees.”
2022-11-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9178 (2022) · source
“Most regrettably, however, through those very eyes, members will also observe its failure to do so. Let me offer some thoughts from that perspective. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has driven the fastest and largest displacement witnessed in decades. Some 14 million people have been forced from their homes since 24 February. Ukrainians are about to face one of the world’s harshest winters, in extremely difficult circumstances. Humanitarian organizations have dramatically scaled up their response, but much more must be done, starting with an end to this senseless war. Unfortunately, we see the opposite. And the destruction caused by strikes at civilian infrastructure, which happens as we speak, is quickly making the humanitarian response look like a drop in an ocean of needs.”
2022-11-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9178 (2022) · source
“Mr. Grandi: I thank the Security Council for hosting me, and I thank you, Mr. President, for your country’s commitment to refugee protection, inclusion and solutions. Ghana is indeed an example to be followed. I take this opportunity to wish you the very best during your presidency this month. For one moment, please look at the multiplicity of global challenges, which members know very well — growing conflicts, the climate emergency, pandemics, energy and food crises — through the eyes of the more than 103 million refugees and displaced people, who are among the most impacted by all of them. I am sure that members will feel, with desperate urgency, the need for the international community to cooperate in order to reverse the current trajectory and find solutions.”
2022-11-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9178 (2022) · source
“As an old humanitarian worker myself, I want to say that the responsibility that the Council has — to ensure that peace and security for all ultimately prevail over power struggles and narrow national interests — has never been as urgent or as indispensable a task as it is tonight. If the Council fails — if we fail — it may be too late for us all.”
2022-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8983 (2022) · source
“It is not very often that I get to brief the Security Council. I therefore want to take this opportunity to echo what I said the last time the Council invited me, a few months ago (see S/PV.8919). Humanitarian workers are courageous, resourceful and experienced, but they cannot keep pace with the constantly growing numbers of conflicts around the world or their increasing gravity. Today I am speaking to the Council as a sixth night of anguish falls over Europe, struck once again by war, and as millions of innocent Ukrainian civilians huddle in bunkers, scramble to board crowded trains and think with trepidation about the future of their children.”
2022-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8983 (2022) · source
“Griffiths mentioned, we will launch the United Nations Humanitarian Appeal for Ukraine tomorrow, for activities both inside and outside the country. Private citizens and companies from around the world have already offered extraordinary financial support through thousands of donations, including more than $40 million to UNHCR alone in a couple of days. I am counting on Governments to do the same, and quickly. Ukrainians, and the countries hosting refugees from Ukraine, cannot wait. Finally, let us remember that Ukrainian refugees, like all others — and please let us not forget the continuing plight of Afghans, Syrians, Ethiopians, the Rohingya people from Myanmar and many others — never wanted to be refugees. They never wanted to be forced to flee their homes, and they all hope to return to their country as quickly as possible.”
2022-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8983 (2022) · source
“Griffiths said, Ukrainians will simply continue to flee. We are currently planning — I repeat, planning — for up to 4 million refugees in the coming days and weeks. Such a rapid increase would be a huge burden for receiving States and would no doubt stress reception systems and related resources. Like any country hosting refugees around the world, they cannot be left alone to shoulder that responsibility. I therefore welcome the support expressed by many European States at yesterday’s European Union Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting to activate the Temporary Protection Directive for people fleeing Ukraine. If activated, it would enable the provision of immediate temporary refuge in the European Union and would also facilitate the sharing of responsibility among European member States for people fleeing Ukraine. As Mr.”
2022-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8983 (2022) · source
“The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with its United Nations partner agencies and national and international NGOs, is present in all these countries, and we are scaling up. We encourage host countries to avail themselves of our support and expert advice as they address the situation and uphold their international obligations. We are helping, and can do more in areas such as protection and registration, the organization of reception capacity and the provision of emergency relief and cash assistance, as well as in identifying and responding to the needs of the most vulnerable, many of them women and children, including a growing number of unaccompanied and separated children. I regret to say that unless there is an immediate halt to the conflict, as Mr.”
2022-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8983 (2022) · source
“That is the humanitarian instinct that is so needed in times of crisis. I encourage Governments to continue to maintain access to their territories for all who are fleeing — Ukrainians, of course, but also third-country nationals living in Ukraine, people who are there to work and study, and in some cases people who are in Ukraine as refugees, all of whom are now similarly forced to escape the violence. At this critical juncture there can be no discrimination against any person or any group. I am aware that the European Union and its member States and other Governments have already provided bilateral support to countries receiving refugees from Ukraine, which I hope will continue.”
2022-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8983 (2022) · source
“We are also aware that a sizeable number have gone to the Russian Federation. I want to commend the Governments of receiving countries for allowing refugees access to their territory. The challenge to admit and register, to meet the needs and ensure the protection of those fleeing is daunting. So far, that challenge has been met, although I am seriously concerned about the likelihood of further escalation in the number of arrivals. We may have seen just the beginning. My message today is therefore one of gratitude to the Governments of Ukraine’s neighbours, and through them, the expression of my heartfelt thanks to the citizens of those countries. Ordinary Poles, Hungarians, Moldovans, Romanians, Slovaks and citizens of other European countries have undertaken extraordinary acts of humanity and kindness.”
2022-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8983 (2022) · source
“In addition to the grave situation inside Ukraine, as Mr. Griffiths just told us, hundreds of thousands are seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. They need safety and protection, first and foremost, but also shelter, food, hygiene and other support, and they need it urgently. As we speak, there are 520,000 refugees from Ukraine in neighbouring countries. That figure has been rising exponentially, literally hour by hour, since Thursday. I have worked in refugee crises for almost 40 years, and I have rarely seen such an incredibly fast and rising exodus of people — surely the largest within Europe since the Balkan wars. More than 280,000 have fled to Poland and another 94,000 to Hungary. Nearly 40,000 are currently in Moldova, 34,000 in Romania, 30,000 in Slovakia, and tens of thousands in other European countries.”
2022-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8983 (2022) · source
“But we know that we are not even scratching the surface in meeting the needs of Ukrainians, including an unknown but surely very substantial number who have been forced to flee their homes in the past few days. The situation is moving so quickly, and the risks are so high at this point, that it is impossible for humanitarian actors to distribute systematically the help that Ukrainians desperately need. I therefore echo the Secretary-General’s urgent call, and those of the Emergency Relief Coordinator just a few minutes ago, as well as others. Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected and spared, and humanitarian access must be granted to those delivering aid to the people affected by war. A failure to do so will compound the already extraordinary levels of human suffering.”
2022-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8983 (2022) · source
“Mr. Grandi: Today and in recent days, the Council has heard that the United Nations humanitarian organizations, together with their non-governmental organization (NGO) partners, have remained in Ukraine. Let me start by saying how proud I am that we decided to do so, just as we did in Afghanistan a few months ago. But naturally, as we just heard, our colleagues on the ground, like the rest of the civilian population, are now caught up in this deadly conflict. Many of them have been relocated and military attacks may force them to move again. Yet they are still striving to deliver help to people in need whenever a small window of relative security allows humanitarian aid to be distributed — working with partners, including national NGOs, often in extremely dangerous circumstances.”
2022-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8983 (2022) · source
“I will welcome the contributions of Council members and other Member States, and hope that it will be a good opportunity to renew our commitment to helping countries hosting large numbers of refugees, and in particular those that have the misfortune of having left everything behind and taken the road to exile, so that they can be protected and solutions can be found to their plight.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“That is the highest level of initial pledges that we have ever received in our history, so I am very grateful for that and would like to encourage in particular those who have spoken about their own financial contributions to continue, going forward, to make such contributions as flexible, unearmarked and multi-year as possible in order to help us face the complex challenges we have talked about. Next Tuesday, I have convened in Geneva the High- level Officials Meeting. Some speakers have mentioned that. This is two years after the Global Refugee Forum and two years before the next refugee forum, as stipulated by the global compact on refugees. I hope that it will be an opportunity to reflect on many of those themes.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“That is, of course, the responsibility of the host countries, but as with Kenya, we are always ready to mobilize resources, if need be, to support the action of the host country to ensure that law and order are not destabilized by the presence of refugees, possible tensions with host communities or, worse, the infiltration of undesirable elements through refugee camps and other settlements. That is something that we need to remain very vigilant about. Finally, this morning, as some speakers have mentioned, I participated in the annual pledging conference to UNHCR. We asked for $9 billion, as I said earlier, for our activities for next year. I am glad to say that we got initial pledges — and these are just initial pledges — of over $1 billion this morning.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“One is to offer my appreciation for the support that has been expressed by some speakers. The representative of India, for example, expressed strong support for multilateral action in terms of refugee responses. I can assure him that I really appreciate what India has been doing and saying, and as I said earlier, I am always ready to travel to New Delhi to discuss this further with his Government. I also express full support for what the Kenyan Ambassador said about what is being done in Kenya — a very complex issue — and my full assurances that UNHCR remains very vigilant on the issue of law and order linked to the presence of refugees.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“That dialogue between those parties has not been easy. We have made some progress and are very grateful to Russia for facilitating the dialogue. We will continue to engage in that respect. There was one more specific issue raised by some speakers — the issue of finding a solution to the plight of Palestinian refugees. As members know, that used to be my responsibility when I was the Head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and I am therefore very grateful to those who have made a plea for that discussion to continue. It is not my responsibility anymore. It is not the responsibility of UNHCR, but I will gladly convey members’ interest and support to my UNRWA colleagues. I wish to make a few more points before I close.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“This is an important discussion, and I would really hope that we can have it. We are ready to facilitate it, separate from politics, to the extent that that can happen, because it is about the fate and the future of millions of people from a country that has been impacted severely by conflict for the past 12 years. There was a brief mention by the representative of the Russian Federation of Nagorno-Karabakh. I would reassure the Russian Federation and everybody else that we are engaged in a difficult dialogue with the parties to that conflict in order to be able to implement the task that we were given by the ceasefire agreement more than a year ago in order to ensure the safe, voluntary and sustainable return of all those displaced in more than 30 years of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“Neighbouring countries are hosting almost 6 million people. In some of those countries, particularly Lebanon, the situation has become very difficult. I am encouraging donor countries to continue to support and even increase support to the countries hosting Syrian refugees until the solution for this crisis is found, but at the same time I think that we must also have a frank discussion about creating conditions for return — a discussion that should encompass everybody. Everybody has responsibilities, as I said in my opening statement. Syria has responsibilities in putting in place conditions with respect to security, legal issues and access of UNHCR to areas of return, as does the donor community in supporting those returns when they happen safely and voluntarily.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“Without that stability, it will be very difficult to also engage on the complicated issue of how to deal with migratory flows, including the flows of people in need of protection through Libya and towards Europe. But that discussion also should not be allowed to drop from the radar screen in the complex debate about Libya. I have concerns about the situation there. Many remarks were made about Syria. If I can be frank, I appreciate the fact that the Irish Ambassador noted that I sometimes say things that perhaps are not exactly what everybody would like to hear. But I shall be frank — I still hear controversy and disagreement regarding the complex issue of Syrian refugees and their return. I would invite States to have a more open, concrete and substantive debate on these important issues.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“The compact includes a very important external component, which we have encouraged Europe to continue to pursue. We remain available to facilitate that particular discussion. Clearly, we are worried about push-backs that are happening at the European external borders, and we are particularly worried by the situation in Libya, where the limited progress that has occurred through work by the UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration and other organizations to extract people from detention centres remains very precarious in the fragile political situation of Libya. We are engaging the Libyan Government in dialogue on these matters. We hope that the political process can advance through the election towards more stability for the country.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“First of all, naturally, we and I personally need to continue to be engaged in dialogue with the European Commission and European Union member States on the future of their asylum policies. This is a very complex discussion. The European Commission has put forward a very important proposal — a migration and asylum pact — that is still being discussed by European countries. Unfortunately, that discussion continues to encounter very difficult political obstacles, but it is clear that Europe must continue to have a welcoming policy in respect of those in need of international protection. It also needs to develop more strategically its interaction with countries of origin and transit regarding the people who reach Europe from Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“As Council members may imagine, UNHCR is particularly worried about the situation of the Rohingya minority in the west of the country, in Rakhine state, and about the increasing lack of prospects and opportunities for the 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, which continues to bear a very significant burden in hosting this population. I therefore appeal for that situation not to be lost from the international radar screen. The Ambassador of Kenya asked very important questions also in respect of European refugee policies and the situation at the doorstep of Europe. I assume that he was referring in particular to the situation in Libya. I have a few points to make in response to that.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“The Taliban, of course, must deliver on the all-important issues of the rights of women, women at work and minorities, and the international community must support the functioning of the State, which must be ensured — all of this, for the sake of the Afghan people. It is politically delicate, but I think that if we do not have the full trajectory ahead of us clear in our mind, we will inevitably always stop at solutions that cannot be truly definitive for a stable, future for the country. Some speakers mentioned Myanmar, which I did not refer to in my opening remarks. Of course, we are concerned about the situation in the country. Violence against civilians has caused fresh displacement and is likely to cause more. Political difficulties make it more complex for us to interact with those in control of the country.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“I think the focus now has to be really on preventing an avoidable major refugee outflow due to the collapse of State structures. That is really what needs to be the priority. This is the appeal I have heard from neighbouring countries, Turkey and countries of the region. Efforts must be made in that respect, first through the transitional arrangements that many speakers have mentioned and that are being discussed at the moment among the World Bank, the United Nations and some other State stakeholders. But I think — and we need to be frank about this — that ultimately the Taliban, which is in control of the country today, and the international community in its entirety need to find a modus operandi, coexist with each other and take the necessary step for that to happen.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“In particular, I would thank Ireland and Kenya for making statements that link together all these complex causes and inform our response to this crisis, as humanitarian agencies, and their response as custodians of peace and security in relation to that. Let me move on to a few of the geographical issues or specific issues that have been raised, starting with Afghanistan. Just to be very clear, I think we can look at Afghanistan as a sequencing of steps that need to be taken. The absolute priority now is the humanitarian response, which goes largely through humanitarian organizations like ours. I have already spoken about that. Some have spoken about the evacuations of people who would be at risk after 15 August.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“There, we are engaged in very interesting and important conversations with the World Bank, and even with the International Monetary Fund and many Member States, on how we can ensure that social safety nets that are put together in each country to offset the economic impact of lockdowns include populations on the move. That is politically sensitive in many places, but it is very important. Otherwise, those populations will feel the impact of COVID-19 for even many more years than populations that are not on the move. I offer thanks in that respect to some countries represented on the Council.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“I have had pressing appeals from countries such as Uganda, Iran and Bangladesh that have very promptly included many refugees on their soil in vaccination campaigns but do not have enough vaccines or logistical capacity to vaccinate and therefore struggle under the additional responsibility of vaccinating host populations. I therefore make a strong appeal for them to be considered with special regard when countries that help others when vaccinations are rolled out. But the main impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on those populations and their hosts has been on the social and economic front.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“One can count the people who are displaced by a flood, a hurricane or a drought. But that is only one impact of climate on displacement. To quantify globally is more complex and more on a case-by-case basis. But there are patterns that we are studying, together with many of our partners, on which we as UNHCR have a role to play as experts on the protection of the displaced and on the search for solutions. We are very keen and very engaged in that respect. Many speakers also mentioned the pandemic. Indeed, we have been very engaged in responding to the impact of the pandemic on displaced populations and their hosts. There is a health aspect that continues to be important. Refugees and displaced persons are mostly in countries that are still undervaccinated, if I may use that term.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“It is a very complex link, ranging from immediate displacement due to natural disasters, which are compounded by climate change, to more complex causal chains — for example, due to conflict that is itself caused by climate change. As in the Sahel, for instance, resources become scarce, communities enter into conflict with each other and that causes displacement. From the Council’s perspective, I would certainly encourage focusing increasingly on that link between climate, conflict and displacement, as we see that chain of causes becoming a pattern in many parts of the world. It requires urgent attention. The representative of Kenya asked whether we have data. I must be honest that I refrained from putting forward figures, which would inevitably be estimates as well as difficult to compare with each other.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“The renewed focus on addressing situations of internal displacement in the report of the Secretary-General’s high-level panel is therefore very welcome. Even more welcome is the report’s sharp focus on solving internal displacement. Solutions to internal displacement are sometime the same, but sometimes differ, as the solutions to refugee issues. There are many points of contact, though, which is why I have made the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) available in the follow-up to the report to contribute in particular, besides our own institutions functions in respect of protection for internally displaced persons, to the search for solutions to internal displacement. The Foreign Minister as well as almost everyone else, myself included, raised the link between the climate emergency and displacement.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“Mr. Grandi: I thank you, Mr. President, for your statement in your national capacity, as it links up very well the various elements raised in the discussion. That is no surprise for, as we said already, your country is facing the outcome of many overlapping challenges. You therefore have a very clear sense of how those challenges intersect and aggravate the problem of forced displacement. Thank you, as well, for raising the issue of statelessness, which is another important dossier for my organization. I would also like to thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Norway for being present at this meeting. I will begin my comments by picking up on some of the points she made. First of all, I would recall that the majority of the 84 million displaced people around the world — about two thirds — are internally displaced persons.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“I am afraid that a failure to find solutions will contribute to more complex and less manageable human mobility. That challenge is clearly evident in many of the countries of Council members. My final invitation is to reflect on that I have said. Once a year. I have the privilege of briefing this very important organ. It is an opportunity to ask Council members to reflect on all that as they navigate the very complex challenges of peace and security and as they strive, as I hope they do, to be united and coherent in that pursuit.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“We are multiplying the channels of response and support, and we continue to develop new and innovative partnerships with the private sector, international financial institutions and development actors. Much of that has been truly transformational, which is very important because lives continue despite the lack of political solutions. People continue to need help. They cannot wait. Saving lives cannot wait for political solutions to happen. But, without those solutions, without stopping and reversing conflict and violence and without establishing those all-important foundations of peace, the efforts that we humanitarians make will remain very fragile and millions will continue to be exposed to great insecurity, uncertainty and fear.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“That is why the Council works on those political solutions. We spare no effort in continuing to deliver humanitarian aid, often in very difficult circumstances. However, responding has become very expensive. The Security Council knows that the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recently issued a global appeal, asking for $41 billion for almost 200,000 people in severe humanitarian need. This very morning here in Geneva, I appealed to the UNHCR donors for $9 billion for 2022 for 84 million people who are refugees or displaced around the world. I can assure Council members that we continue to be as creative as we can in our responses. The global compact on refugees and the pledges that were subsequently made at the Global Refugee Forum have been invaluable.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“We hope that it will not be necessary but, just to let Council members know, we are preparing contingency plans for not only more displacement inside Ethiopia, but also for the arrivals of more refugees in countries neighbouring Ethiopia, some of which, as is known, are undergoing a crisis of their own. I will conclude with a couple of general points. From what I said, and I could provide many other examples, forced displacement continues to be driven by conflict and prices, of course mixed, as I said, with many other factors. I have just returned from 10 days in Mexico and Central America, and I could see how those complex factors intersect with each other, creating incredibly difficult phenomena of human mobility. As I have already said many times today, we at UNHCR understand very well the complexity of political solutions.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“Of course, from my perspective, a very special appeal is not to lose sight of the refugee angle. For decades, Ethiopia has been host to very large refugee populations — approximately 800,000 — from most neighbouring countries. As is known, those most at risk at this point are the Eritreans who have been severely impacted by the conflict both in Tigray and in urban centres throughout the country. I make a special appeal for the protection of those groups to continue and to be granted without, of course, forgetting — and that may be an indication of things to come in the future — that there are already about 60,000 Ethiopian refugees in the Sudan, with more having arrived in recent days.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“Many of my colleagues have come to the Security Council to speak about Ethiopia. I would like to join their cause in stressing some very important points. First of all is the need to impress upon the parties that they need to respect the neutrality of United Nations humanitarian organizations and non-governmental organizations working in the humanitarian field and ensure their safety, including that of national staff of all ethnic origins, which has been an issue, as Council members know. It is important that access not only be granted — much has been said and many words have been spent on that — but also be allowed for the enablers of humanitarian operations, such as the use of cash and the availability of fuel. Otherwise, access alone will not be sufficient.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source
“In that context, humanitarian organizations — including United Nations agencies, my own organization and me personally — have been unfairly accused by all sides of taking sides. There have been phases in those 13 months in which we have been able to step up. For Council members’ information, as they probably know, at UNHCR we have been focusing particularly on situations of displacement — internal displacement and refugees — in Ethiopia through protection, the distribution of aid and the quest for solutions, for example moving people to safer areas. But I have to report that, after the start of the October offensive, the latest round of fighting and now the counter-offensive that we have observed in the past few days, we are actually very quickly sliding back in the limited gains that we made in terms of access and delivery of health.”
2021-12-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8919 (2021) · source