20
June 2008. New-York – Kyiv - Intolerance, political breakdown and war have long, pernicious histories.
Yet the fragility of political systems, the
devolution of societies into catastrophic violence have also provoked a humane reply,
the protection of those forced to flee their countries in escape from persecution.
Granting asylum can be traced back thousands
of years and is one of the earliest hallmarks of civilization. Today, the principle is firmly recognized in
Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which this year marks
its 60th anniversary: “Everyone
has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.”
The United Nations Refugee Convention of 1951 defined a refugee as a
person who is outside his or her country of nationality or habitual residence
and who has a well-founded fear of persecution because of race, religion,
nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Since 1951, human displacement has become a
far more complex issue. Distinguishing a
refugee from a person driven across a border by sheer hunger is often very
difficult. Population flows are now
driven by interrelated factors and, as barriers to human mobility have fallen,
protecting the displaced has become a greater challenge.
Conflict and poverty, the most common reasons people are compelled to
leave their homes, are now amplified by the effects of climate change, increasing
scarcity of resources and food shortages -- factors which may lead to greater
insecurity in the future. Compounding these challenges is the fact that the
responsibility of providing asylum currently falls disproportionately on
developing nations. Contrary to public perceptions in many industrialized
nations, developing countries actually bear the burden of hosting a larger
number of refugees, despite their limited resources.
In the past year, the number of refugees has grown to more than 16
million worldwide.
I urgently call on the international community to redouble efforts to
address both the causes and consequences of forced human displacement. Greater
international solidarity is crucial if we are to share the burden of protection
more equitably.
I thank the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and UN
agencies that have worked together to protect and help repatriate the
displaced. We must not lose sight of the individual people who are fleeing
persecution, what they face on a daily basis as they try to meet their basic
needs.
Our goal must be no less than to ensure that refugees will be free one
day to return home, in safety and dignity. But on World Refugee Day, let us
first reaffirm that all refugees have the right to asylum, and let us do
everything we can to give them the full protection they deserve.
More information about World Refugee Day.
20.06.08
