YouSaid · the spoken record

Ogata

lines on the record: 219
first: 1992-11-13
most recent: 2002-07-19
sittings or episodes: 7
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

“People were very uncertain about going back to Rwanda, which was undergoing enormous conflict and instability; they were very hesitant, but it was a choice between life or death. I hope I do not have to come up with these stark choices as we move on in the next few years. As far as return is concerned, however, I find that the internally displaced persons have a much easier time going back. This was true in Mozambique, where there was an enormous population of internally displaced persons. We brought back 1.7 million refugees from the neighbouring countries. Internally displaced persons returned sort of naturally, from one village to another. This also shows that the closer you are to home, the easier it is to return. I think, in this sense, today, with an enormous number of internally displaced persons, we must deal with the problem.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“I think the two important factors for returnees are that they have a sense of security when they go back to their countries of origin, and - there is more to it than that - maybe a sense of expecting a better world to come. I think this is why we have always held their willingness to return as the most important factor, and I think this is recognized. On the subject of voluntary repatriation, however, very often, and especially these days, we cannot provide full voluntariness. There is a range of choices that we can usually provide, and the greater the range, the better. I still remember how during the war in Zaire we had really no choice but to say "If you stay on, you will die".”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“I would just like to say that, on the question of internally displaced persons and refugees, I fully agree that solutions to their problems are the same. The refugees are given a certain international status to be able to get asylum and protection in the countries where they seek asylum. I do not think this should be dismantled. It is very, very important. However, when it comes to the question of how we can do more for the internally displaced, I am certainly prepared to examine what more we can do or what are some of the expected actions that the Security Council would like the UNHCR to examine. On the question that the Ambassador of the Netherlands has asked about voluntary repatriation, the answer is "yes". We have always thought that people who were forced to leave should not be forced to return.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“Mrs. Ogata: Really, what I would like to say is to express my appreciation. If I was too direct and precise, I would like you to understand that it came from a sense of desperation. We cannot solve the refugee problems without the Council's input, and it is in this sense that I was enormously encouraged by several delegations who said that the time for concrete action is here - that the time is now. We do want action, because we are an agency working in the field. Eighty per cent of our colleagues are on the front lines, and this is why it is a privilege for me to be able to present my appeal to the Security Council. We do have enormous expectations that the Security Council will come up with better conflict resolution proposals. It is a very complex issue.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“This is particularly special in Africa. I noted this experience by receiving some letters from 12- and 14-year old refugee children, who really appealed for education opportunities. And I was very touched.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“Mrs. Ogata: As I said in my statement, we would like to augment the possibility for refugee children, and girls in particular because they are usually more deprived of educational opportunities at the secondary school level. I say this because somehow in most refugee camps we manage to provide some primary school education, but when it gets to the secondary level, it hardly exists. We feel that for the refugees who are temporarily outside of education possibilities, or their own home environments, it would be very important that they be given educational opportunities so that once they go back home, or when they become part of the countries of asylum - integration - they will turn into useful citizens. This is why it is a bit of a longer term view, but I think we should not deprive children from being properly educated.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“We do our very best, but our determined efforts cannot suffice. I would very much like to receive some ideas on how to do this. Internationally, I am told that it is more difficult to get international police than international peacekeepers, and what we greatly need in these areas is the presence of international police, or the strengthening of national police capacity.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“Mrs. Ogata: This is one of the greatest difficulties we faced in the Zairian camps in 1996, and although through the Secretary-General we appealed for peacekeeping or policing arrangements, this was not successful. At the end, our own colleagues had to devise approaches, which worked somewhat in the beginning but was not adequate. In other places, however, we assist the host Governments with some policing and provide funds, training and the necessary technical equipment. I think it is better that we do that than otherwise, but it is far from adequate in really ensuring neutrality and the civilian character of refugee camps. Since most of the refugees today are victims of internal conflict and flee their countries either temporarily or in an effort to fight back, it is very difficult to really maintain the camps' civilian character.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“We therefore have enormous reservations. Regrouping people and asking the international community to provide humanitarian assistance means having a kind of forced arrangement of internally displaced persons, and directing assistance from the international community will not solve the problem at all. So we do have enormous reservations. However, if the people are in dire need, then we have a dilemma. We do have to provide some minimal assistance. I am very pleased to note that Ambassador Dejammet has considered the idea of stability. All the refugee problems have to be solved regionally. Refugees cross borders and place enormous burdens on neighbouring countries. So neighbouring countries, together with the countries of origin, can only sit down together to solve the problem. I hope you will be able to examine these prospects further.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“But at the same time, it does spread insecurity to other countries - for example, to Somalia - and in that sense we are very much worried about the possibility of spillover effects. As far as Eritrea is concerned, we have completed a technical discussion with the Government. They seem to be willing to take back their refugees, which is a good sign. However, as to whether this war will be completed, it is a very disappointing kind of war that I think we have all deplored. I hope the efforts for peace will come very soon. The issue of regroupment is a very touchy issue and one that we dealt with in 1997. I think that what the Government should be doing is providing security throughout the country, rather than regrouping some people in order to be able to take other actions in other parts of the country.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“Mrs. Ogata: Thank you very much for the questions, some of which are very concrete. I think the repatriation of Sierra Leone refugees from the neighbouring countries, particularly Guinea, will depend very much on the early deployment of peacekeepers and the peacekeepers being able to manage peace in Sierra Leone. I think the northern part is still very fragile. Our own plan for over 170,000 refugees is to start in April. This is being planned and it is foreseen, but it will depend a great deal on how, and whether, the refugees themselves perceive the prospect for security. So, I cannot promise; but this is what we are thinking. As to the situation between Ethiopia and Eritrea, it is really a localized war, with very limited impact on the countries themselves.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“True, it will be impossible to meet the needs of all refugee students, but I hope that we shall be able to provide at least some support to the most deserving and needy. Amid so much violence, terror and despair, this will be a powerful symbol of the willingness of the international community to support refugees, to help them make a contribution to their host communities and prepare themselves for a stable life after their plight is resolved. We must give them hope for a better future.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“What is provided to refugees in Africa, including food and other basic survival items, is far less than in other parts of the world. This is unacceptable. I hope that the "month of Africa" in the Security Council will prompt the international community to address seriously this grave imbalance in material assistance. On our side, at the end of the year 2000, we shall observe the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Among other initiatives, we are planning to launch a special refugee education trust, which would allow refugees, especially in Africa, to pursue post-primary education during their exile, an opportunity sadly lacking today.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“They, above all, are the victims of the wars that we do not stop. I agree with you, Mr. President, that their plight demands quick solutions. I have spoken of the support which my Office expects from the Security Council. Let me conclude, on a humanitarian note, by saying that their plight also demands immediate attention. In spite of all the problems that I have mentioned, States must continue to uphold the rights of refugees and provide asylum when people flee war and persecution. Donor Governments must share the burden of asylum by ensuring an adequate level of basic assistance in camps and settlements, and for returnees going back home. In both areas there has been little or no progress at all in the past few years.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“The plight of Africans has become so critical that I hope the Council will be able to put aside differences and devise concrete measures to address it. This is now dramatically urgent. Let me go back to where I started - to the African people. Africa, like the rest of the world, will not be secure unless its people feel secure. Those, in particular, who are of concern to my Office - refugees, internally displaced people and returnees - are first and foremost human beings in need of protection and care. I am thinking especially of the most vulnerable among them: refugee women and children exposed to even greater risks than their peers living at home, such as rape, AIDS and other epidemics, and forced recruitment; and the elderly, whom I so frequently meet in my field trips, and whose fear, despair and exhaustion, never fail to anguish me.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“The success of the "month of Africa", I am sure the Council will agree, will depend on how rapidly and effectively the Council's discussions here in New York are translated into concrete action in the field. We must strive to obtain what we have too often failed to achieve: that what is discussed and decided here in the Security Council actually helps the lives of women and men in African cities and in African villages become safer and better. We at UNHCR know very well that solutions are difficult and that to have a positive impact on situations that have deteriorated beyond description is a very, very tall order. But we must make the effort. In the Council's discussions, different approaches will certainly emerge, and this is inevitable.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“Let me say once more that humanitarian action alone will not be able to solve any of the problems leading to forced human displacement; it cannot substitute for Governments and the Security Council in areas for which they have a clear responsibility, such as peacekeeping and peace-building. The Council has an essential role to play in preventing, containing and resolving conflicts - and, hence, refugee problems - in Africa. This can be done by taking clear, strong and united positions; by supporting more decisively, rapidly and substantively the follow-up to peace agreements; by promoting the mobilization of resources for reconstruction and peace-building - in short, by moving from issuing statements to taking action.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“The Security Council should promote regional initiatives - following, for example, the model of the Stability Pact on South-Eastern Europe - that could involve States in the respective regions, supporting Governments, regional and international organizations and civil society. Human displacement being, of course, a regional problem by definition, my Office would warmly welcome any such initiatives. There are other refugee problems that I have not mentioned, of course, such as those concerning the Sahrawis, and the refugees from the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Gabon. The examples I have given, however, show that conflicts in Africa continue to have the most serious humanitarian impact on people's lives, especially when they compel people to flee their homes.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“I also hope that regional efforts to bring Somalia back into the fold of nations will receive international encouragement and support. In spite of some improvements, the situation in West Africa and the Horn is far from settled. The end of acute emergency situations, however, should allow the international community to adopt broader, regionally based peace-building approaches. In West Africa, UNHCR is planning to promote such an approach in order to address, for example, the negative consequences of refugee movements on the economy and the environment in some West African countries. There is a host of problems which should be tackled through a comprehensive, regional strategy in both areas, ranging from the need to strengthen administrative structures, to the collapse of civil society institutions, to abuses of human rights.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“In northern Uganda, in spite of many security problems, we are proceeding with the local integration of refugees from south Sudan, and we hope to be able to promote the same solution for those in western Ethiopia. Needless to say, these efforts to resolve refugee problems are greatly complicated by the tension prevailing in the area, within certain countries and between others. The Horn of Africa is another example of a situation in which UNHCR's humanitarian efforts on the ground would be much more effective if they were carried out in the context of broader political initiatives. I hope that the Security Council will take the opportunity of the "Month of Africa" to strengthen its support for the OAU initiative towards the resolution of the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“In spite of this, UNHCR is working with Governments to try to bring solutions to the plight of hundreds of thousands of people who have lived - sometimes for decades - away from their homes. The situation in Somalia is fragile, but repatriation from Ethiopia to more stable areas in the north-west continues and should be supported. Eritrea has recently agreed to resume the repatriation of the remaining Eritrean refugees still in Sudan. This is a very positive development. With respect to Ethiopian refugees, UNHCR is pursuing the implementation of the "clause of cessation" of their refugee status, since the conditions that prompted their flight from Ethiopia do not exist any longer; this is being discussed with host Governments.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“The situation in the country, however, remains fragile. In some areas, like Lofa County, security is particularly precarious. Because this is a region of return and also of refuge for Sierra Leoneans, UNHCR is promoting capacity-building programmes for the local administration and police. Broader programmes, however, are needed throughout the country to consolidate peace and prevent renewed human displacement. Resources for rehabilitation and development are woefully lacking. I should also mention the Horn of Africa, where attempts to resolve refugee problems are conducted against a background of ongoing political tensions, with uneven results. There are many unresolved conflicts in the region - civil war in Sudan; internal unrest in northern Uganda; war between Ethiopia and Eritrea; and an unsettled situation throughout Somalia.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“Secondly, peacekeepers and military observers must be swiftly deployed to field locations. Thirdly, the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme must be given the necessary resources and implemented as swiftly as possible. In all these areas, the Security Council can play an important role. And from the humanitarian viewpoint, the rehabilitation and reintegration of amputees - particularly children - is a very important priority that needs to be adequately supported for a considerable length of time. Concerns about Sierra Leone should not make us forget the situation in Liberia. The country has received about 330,000 returnees from Guinea, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana in the last few years, and some 190,000 Liberians remain in exile. UNHCR would like to end the organized repatriation by mid-2000.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“In West Africa, there are more reasons for optimism, although some of the complex, conflict-related displacement problems persist. For the 450,000 Sierra Leonean refugees, mostly in Guinea and Liberia, the objective is voluntary repatriation. This is clearly the solution of one of the largest refugee problems in Africa, and UNHCR is tentatively planning for the return of up to 170,000 refugees in the course of 2000, with organized repatriation - for those who need it - starting in April. However, conditions in Sierra Leone must improve. Action must be taken in three priority areas. First, adequate pressure must be put on the signatories of the Lome Agreement to abide by its provisions. Recent episodes of renewed fighting inside the country are very worrying.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“UNHCR activities in Angola, for example, had to be drastically curtailed because of insecurity and lack of funds. Yet the presence of internally displaced people throughout Central Africa is not only a humanitarian problem, but also one of security. Action needs to be taken urgently to compensate for the lack of protection mechanisms for internally displaced people. However, I would like to warn against isolating them as a separate category. Today the root causes of displacement, be it of refugees or of internally displaced people, do not fundamentally differ: look at Kosovo, for example, or at the situation in the North Caucasus. What is most important is to devise comprehensive mechanisms to protect people fleeing their homes because of persecution and violence, as well as comprehensive, regionally based solutions to their predicament.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“Everywhere there is a pattern of growing internal displacement, with decreasing possibilities of access by humanitarian agencies. This is of great concern. UNHCR assists internally displaced people when there is a request by the Secretary-General or when the crisis is closely linked to a refugee or returnee situation. Other humanitarian agencies - particularly the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme, the International Committee of the Red Cross and non- governmental organizations - intervene in some situations. However, there is no established mechanism for the assistance, and particularly the protection, of the internally displaced. Donor Governments are very reluctant to allocate resources for programmes in fragile, insecure areas.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“The number of internally displaced people in Angola is very large - one to two million - but it is impossible to estimate it precisely, since access by humanitarian agencies is limited. Security is the main obstacle. Fighting has resumed in many parts of the country. There are perhaps up to 10 million landmines. The peace process is all but stalled. Unless peace makes some progress, with concrete and positive consequences for security on the ground, it will be difficult to envisage the resumption of large assistance programmes in Angola, let alone a rapid solution to the problems of human displacement, including the return of refugees and internally displaced people. In all three countries, renewed population movements are therefore a clear consequence of unresolved, and sometimes worsening, conflict.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“The priorities are clear: stop conflict and deploy peacekeepers; obtain full access to all people with humanitarian needs, particularly the internally displaced; and start reconstruction and development. The efforts of Ambassador Morjane, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, to establish a United Nations presence throughout the country must be supported. Third, Angola. The humanitarian crisis there is perhaps the worst in Africa. Once again, human displacement statistics are an indicator of the gravity of the situation. There are 370,000 Angolan refugees in neighbouring countries, and the outflow continues. Zambia has already 200,000, and since it also hosts other refugees, particularly Congolese, it is now one of the largest asylum countries in Africa.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“On the one hand, in spite of all difficulties, UNHCR continues to support the repatriation of Rwandans - 36,000 returned through Goma in 1999. On the other hand, however, over 130,000 Congolese have fled abroad - a large majority to Tanzania; and a very large number - millions, probably, although nobody can really estimate their total - are internally displaced. In spite of their urgent humanitarian needs, there can be little or no access to those internally displaced unless hostilities end and peacekeepers are deployed to protect humanitarian operations. It is crucial that the Security Council provide more decisive support to conflict resolution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“The appointment of Nelson Mandela as Facilitator is most welcome, and I hope that his statesmanship and charisma will allow negotiations to yield positive results soon. If Arusha fails, we can only expect more violence and, inevitably, more forced human displacement in Burundi, with unpredictable consequences for the stability of the entire region. Secondly, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There is a real risk that the Lusaka Agreement will not be implemented. This would have frightful repercussions, although, from the vantage point of the refugee agency, the consequences of protracted war are already a humanitarian tragedy. In my last visit, I was struck by the visibly deteriorating conditions of the people, in spite of the natural wealth of the country and the traditional Congolese resourcefulness.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“There are an estimated 300,000 people in regroupment sites, virtually internally displaced people created by a Government policy. This is an issue of great concern to humanitarian agencies. Although we understand the Government's security priorities, it is imperative that a number of conditions be fulfilled for assistance to be provided at the sites. People must be regrouped only on a voluntary basis; access by humanitarian agencies to regrouped people must be granted; and the internally displaced outside the sites must also be assisted. The Government must also give fuller and clearer guarantees for the security of humanitarian staff. Most importantly, however, the Arusha peace process must be revitalized and strengthened.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“This is an area in which refugee movements have continued to occur almost uninterruptedly since independence and have worsened in the last few years. Armed groups control vast areas in which security is very precarious and ethnic tensions are being exacerbated again - witness the attack in north-west Rwanda at the end of December, in which 30 people were killed and 40 were injured. From the point of view of UNHCR, I would like to draw the attention of the Council to three Central African countries in particular. First, Burundi. In the last quarter of 1999 alone, 30,000 new refugees fled to Tanzania. The total number of Burundian refugees in that country is now about 300,000. The number of internally displaced people has also increased.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“But without clearer, more decisive action by Governments, which the Security Council has a responsibility in inspiring, designing and leading, refugee crises cannot be resolved - unless we force people back from where they have fled, violating principles, threatening the security and stability of entire regions and, ultimately, failing to address the root causes of conflict and human displacement. The situation is critical in many parts of Africa. Nowhere, however, do war and violence affect millions of exhausted civilians more than in Central Africa. There are unresolved and closely linked conflicts in or around at least seven countries - Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville), Rwanda, the Sudan and Uganda.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“President, that even in the absence of large developmental activities, UNHCR and humanitarian agencies have been able to carry out a substantive reintegration programme in Rwanda, a country where 25 per cent of the population are recent returnees, many of them women and girls heading large households. All these efforts, however, will be neither effective nor durable if they are not complemented at the political level by African States, supporting Governments and developmental institutions. Therefore, I agree with anyone who argues that refugee crises should not be allowed to linger; that for humanitarian reasons, and in order to protect the security and prosperity of areas affected by human displacement, they should be resolved quickly.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“I hope that these initiatives, with the support of the Council, will yield some concrete results in the future. I am not saying that my Office should abdicate its responsibility to promote the respect of refugees' rights, particularly the right to asylum, and to assist refugees in need. It is important that UNHCR make efforts at the community level to assist affected populations, and ultimately to help refugees return home. Helping communities is an area in which humanitarian work, with its emphasis on vulnerable groups, can be a valuable complement to conflict resolution and peace-building efforts. You have seen for yourself, Mr.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“The "month of Africa" should be an opportunity for the Council to seek more decisive measures to address the problems that I have mentioned: the indiscriminate struggle for resources, the uncontrolled flow of arms, the lack of conflict resolution mechanisms and weak support to post-conflict situations. From UNHCR's perspective, I would also like to insist once more on two security priorities: the need to build everywhere an effective law enforcement capacity and the need to provide systematic support to regional peacekeeping. I will not elaborate further on these themes, but would like to remind the Council of our proposal to develop middle-level security measures in the overall available ladder of options of which I have frequently spoken, and which some Governments have decided to examine.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“And inputs to turn war into peace - and even to consolidate peace when it is attained, as in Rwanda and Liberia, for example - are very timid and piecemeal. Can we speak of any substantive reconstruction programme, like those generously funded by Governments in Kosovo or East Timor, in any African country today? The effectiveness of humanitarian action can, thus, only be limited. This kind of war offers little opportunity for international humanitarian law to be promoted and respected. With human displacement having become a military objective, upholding the rights of refugees often has unwarranted consequences, because armed groups frequently infiltrate refugee populations. Clearly, refugee crises cannot be resolved in a vacuum. I wish to insist on this point.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“Conflicts, in turn, will not be resolved unless some basic power-sharing problems are addressed. In some regions of Africa, controlling natural resources - oil, diamonds, wood - appears to be a more pressing concern, for Governments and rebel groups alike, than the welfare of people living in embattled areas. The relative ease with which arms are trafficked between countries all over the world means that conflicts are continuously supplied. The worst pages of colonial history seem to live again in situations in which people struggle to survive while small groups benefit from Africa's wealth and enormous resources are wasted in pursuing war. There are no effective conflict resolution mechanisms in Africa; on the contrary, armed groups waging war against Governments are often openly supported by other Governments.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“Who would not agree, knowing of the desperate plight of refugee women and children in makeshift, inhospitable and dangerous camps? Seeking solutions to refugee problems has always been part of UNHCR's mandate, along with the need to ensure the protection of refugees. The international context also demands faster solutions. Following the end of the cold war, the narrowing links between forced human displacement and conflicts have increased the concerns of Governments about human displacement problems. Pressure to resolve them rapidly is constantly mounting, and not only in Africa, as Kosovo and East Timor have demonstrated. However, there can be no solution to refugee crises - and especially no voluntary repatriation - if wars that force people to flee are not stopped.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“The security, socio-economic and natural environment of countries of asylum are severely affected by large, forced population movements. It is the countries which have most generously hosted refugees that have paid the highest price, such as Tanzania and Guinea. Other countries, in spite of their own difficult situations, have nevertheless received large refugee groups - Liberia, for example, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. War- induced mass population movements have also contributed to the spreading of conflicts, as has been the case in Central and West Africa. Throughout your recent African tour, Mr. President, you repeatedly declared that we need to bring quick - or should I say, quicker - solutions to refugee crises.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“The difficulty of having access to large numbers of people in insecure and isolated areas is compounded by the complexity of assisting civilians in their own country, where their own State authorities or rebel forces in control are frequently the very cause of their predicament. Hundreds of thousands of people at risk in war areas, such as the southern Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Angola and Sierra Leone - a majority of them internally displaced - are at present not accessible to humanitarian agencies. Where such access is possible, it is often very dangerous. The killing of two United Nations staff members in Burundi last November is only the latest of many such fatal incidents affecting humanitarian personnel. Current refugee crises also have other complex aspects.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“In the last few years, the pattern of refugee crises, especially in Africa, has undergone significant changes. Refugees continue to flee violence and conflict - almost invariably compounded by poverty - and to seek asylum in safer countries. Others, and increasingly so, seek refuge as internally displaced people in safer parts of their own countries. In Angola, for example, almost 20 per cent of the population has fled, both outside and inside the borders of the country. Dealing with the internally displaced is often more arduous than with refugees who cross borders.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“As the head of an organization which devotes a substantial portion of its resources to Africa, where the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) takes care of about 6 million people, I feel encouraged by this initiative and wish to thank the Council for inviting me. Twice last year, discussing African problems with the Council, I shared my hopes and expressed my concerns, which, I should add, have further deepened. In July, at the Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit in Algiers, new and dynamic leadership in some key African States and the signing of the Lome Peace Agreement and the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement were the cause of some optimism. Six months later, however, the situation in many areas, especially in Central Africa, is becoming more critical.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“Mrs. Ogata: Let me start by wishing you, Mr. President, and all members of the Security Council a happy new year. At this second meeting of the Security Council's "month of Africa" session, my thoughts go to the African people. A majority of them have spent Christmas, Ramadan and the turn of the millennium struggling to survive, in misery and fear. Let me, therefore, congratulate the Council on launching the "month of Africa". I hope it will also be the "Month of the Africans" because, while we celebrate this time of extraordinary hope, energy and opportunity, it is important that we also speak about the millions of dramatically deprived people living on the African continent.”
2000-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4089 (2000) · source
“I hope I have covered most of your questions. If I have not, I will be happy to respond bilaterally after the meeting. Let me thank you very much again for your questions. I think the questions give us a lot of food for thought too as we carry on our operations.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“At the same time, they are children, so what should be done? It is a new kind of a concrete situation that we are just facing now, and certainly we will have to consult with our other partners, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations Children's Fund and, ol'course, the Central African Republic itself. So this is a very complex issue. In demobilization of child soldiers. who takes what kind of action is something which still requires further examination. On the question of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we have 25,000 in Zambia and about 80.000 in Tanzania. and recently this group that went to the Central African Republic has been a very worrying one. The refugee outflow to Tanzania from both Burundi and the Congo is giving Tanzania a very heavy burden, as is often the case.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“We have tried screening a lot, both in Congo (Brazzaville) and in the various neighbouring countries, and it has been very difficult. So de facto practical separation is what we have come to, and I think as far as those who have continued to fight or to be armed are really excluded from international protection. I think this is the way we are interpreting it. On the Gabon situation, we are certainly looking into what members have asked about, and we will see what kind of arrangements we can set up. On the question of child soldiers, those Congolese who have gone to the Central African Republic are a mixed group. There are soldiers, there are civilians and there are some child soldiers. We are trying to reach the child soldiers, but it is a very complicated issue, because UNHCR does not deal with soldiers.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“The fact that they give up arms and go to the collection centre is an expression of their will to return. In the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), the arrangement is considerably different, and we are still negotiating the details. But there will be a place identified in the northern part of Congo (Brazzaville) which will require people to end their involvement in the conflict near Brazzaville and to go away. Of course, there too they will have to be disarmed when they go to these places. They will be given one-time assistance, and they will have to engage in peaceful activities, such as farming and so forth. So the fact that they will be leaving the areas in which conflict participation is possible is another sign of giving up their intention to continue fighting.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“I am not in a position to express my views on an agreement that was concluded between two parties. I think the basic View is that peace is very important. When I was Visiting Sierra Leone and Guinea and talking with the refugees in various places, they wanted peace. On the question of Rwanda and the Rwandan refugee repatriation, the arrangement made is that there will be a collection point in the Kivu area. I do not know where the points are, but there will be several collection points where people who want to return will go, and they will have to be disarmed. They will disarm themselves and go to collection centres. As long as these two conditions are met, they will be taken back to Rwanda. We will support their transportation, and the Rwandan Government has agreed to take them. So there is no need for screening.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“Now, regarding a couple of specific problems that you have asked about. As far as repatriation is concerned in Sierra Leone, we are setting up some field offices in the northern border areas inside Sierra Leone. My representative in the country has been given the task of humanitarian coordinator, and he has recently gone to the rebel-held areas. He will be then going to this meeting in London, and I hope that there will be more concrete agreements on how we carry out the agreed upon repatriation. I think that as long as peace holds - and it is good that it is holding - refugees will go back. I do not think a rapid massive return of the kind that we saw in Kosovo will take place there. With respect to my View on the amnesty clause with regard to the Lorne agreement, I have to be honest.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source