Hon. Mkhondo Lungu, Minister of Home Affairs; Your Excellency Mark Storella, Ambassador of the United States in Zambia, Deputy Minister..... All Permanent Secretaries and other Government Officials here this evening, Your Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps; The Resident Coordinator and all of my dear colleagues in the UN Country Team; Implementing Partners, Sarah Muke our guest speaker, Mme Harriet Muke, her mother and Dr Yassa Pierre - refugees in Zambia; representatives of the private sector and the media; Distinguished Guests and Friends,
Tomorrow, December 14th, UNHCR is 60 years old and we commemorate that with both joy and sadness. Joy because we are in Zambia, which has a long tradition of hosting refugees and providing them with safety and a gracious welcome, regardless of their country of origin - beginning with Polish refugees fleeing the Holocaust during World War II, continuing with liberation fighters from many of the African countries and now to people fleeing persecution, generalized violence and armed conflict.
Sadness because today there are still 43 million people who have been forcibly displaced, the majority of whom are under UNHCR's duty of care - 15 million refugees, almost 1 million asylum seekers, well as 27 million internally displaced who remain in their home countries but uprooted from their communities. UNHCR also estimates that there are about 12 million stateless people around the world.
60 years ago, when UNHCR was created, it was for a period of three years and until 2003, the mandate was renewed every five years. UNHCR now has an indefinite mandate, which is not something to be celebrated. When UNHCR was created to help Europeans displaced by the Second World War, no-one could have foreseen the kind of challenges we would face over the coming six decades - mixed migration scenarios with refugees drowning side by side with migrants sharing the same rickety boat; women fleeing persecution because they have refused to succumb to social mores; millions of earthquake victims left without housing and all basic needs; blurring distinctions between voluntary and involuntary movements, just to name a few. In a recent speech, the High Commissioner warned of growing gaps in the global framework for protecting the world's forcibly displaced and urged the international community to urgently adapt and respond. He also pointed to the need for action on an expanding list of displacement problems for which there are no agreed international solutions - including climate change, gang violence and vulnerability arising from the uncertainty of fragile post-conflict situations. As a country which has a wealth of experience in assessing and responding to a variety of flight situations, I am sure UNHCR will continue to engage Zambia, not least as an established member of our Executive Committee, in both the on-going intellectual debate, as well as in the search for practical solutions to these gripping human dramas.
Today Zambia is host to 25,507 Angolans, 12,075 Congolese, 5,640 Rwandans, 2,113 Burundians, 1,854 Somalis and 404 refugees of other nationalities. In this room we have three, two Angolans and one Congolese - they are here to remind us that our work remains unfinished. Sarah spoke to us about her life as a refugee and her desire to return home. She is not alone - many of her compatriots have told us that they are ready to go home and we believe that 2011, when we will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, will be a year of return for many of the refugees now living in Zambia.
2011 will build on the successes of 2010, when we saw 7,000 Congolese refugees voluntarily repatriate to the Katanga province and Kala and Mwange camps closed and turned over to the Government of Zambia. Here, I would like to note the presence of the Permanent Secretary for Luapula Province and to thank him for the warm and effective collaboration he has had with my office and the field offices in Kawambwa and Mporokoso.
However, return is not the only durable solution for refugees. Many of the refugees have been in this country for decades, in one case for 42 years and in many others at least for 30. Intention surveys show that many of them have a strong interest in remaining in Zambia, to which they have provided skills and other contributions and with which they have strong and durable ties. They hope that they can benefit from a second durable solution - local integration, casting off the too-long held refugee status and becoming a full fledged and loyal member of Zambian society, de facto and de jure. We know that the Government of Zambia is reviewing this possibility and we are very grateful for your consideration.
Above all, this evening is a time for us to give thanks. First to the Government of Zambia, represented here by the Minister of Home Affairs, his able Deputy Ministers, Permanent Secretary and the Permanent Secretaries from many of the Ministries and Provinces, as well as officials from State House and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Hon. Minister Lungu, the Government and the people of Zambia have opened their hearts and homes to hundreds of thousands of people. This has neither been risk nor cost free. In the time of the struggle against colonialism and apartheid, Zambia was a front-line state and sacrificed so much to ensure the freedom of many countries - former refugees are presidents and ministers and continue to speak of the role played by Zambia in those difficult times. UNHCR knows those sacrifices well, as we have been in this country since 1967. We hope to remain a trusted and effective partner - and through you we express our heartfelt gratitude to the Government and people of Zambia and hope that the tradition of welcome will remain for those who have to flee in the future.
I turn now to the co-host for this evening, Ambassador Storella and his staff. Ambassador Storella, some of UNHCR's work would be impossible without the financial and moral support of the Government and people of the United States. The United States, along with other key donor countries, has been in the forefront of many advances in international refugee law, such as in regard to recognition of gender-related forms of persecution. As we move into a year long process leading up to the 60th anniversary of the Convention next year, we hope to benefit from your personal passion for refugee issues and to continue to work closely with you and your staff to find solutions for refugees.
I turn quickly to our other donors, as we have many and our debt of gratitude is high! I will not single out any more, as that would be extremely undiplomatic, but I want all who contribute so generously to UNHCR to know that we thank you from the bottom of our hearts and equally important, that the refugees do so also.
To my colleagues in the UN Country Team - I thank you for all your support and collegiality. All of you have played a role - and if I mention World Food Programme and IOM in particular, given their critical roles in food security for refugees and repatriation and relocation, I know you will understand.
A warm thanks to our implementing partners - Africa Humanitarian Action, Aktion Afrika Hilfe, World Vision, and Grassroots Soccer. The concrete results of the past year were the fruit of a good partnership.
The private sector and the media are also represented. You have different roles in the lives of refugees and we thank you for playing those roles so compassionately. We look forward to an even closer relationship during the process of our year long commemoration.
I hope you will permit me to make a few personal remarks. I have only been in Zambia for a short time but I already feel at home - thank you for helping to make my transition from Namibia an easy one. Whatever I have accomplished during that time is due, in large part, to my wonderful staff. Some are here tonight, representing our offices in Lusaka, Solwezi, Kawambwa, Mporokoso and Mongu. I even have a former staff member from Namibia. Thank you colleagues - 2010 was tough I know but we are ending on a hopeful note. In 2011 I am asking you to put an emphasis on the situation of refugee women, as we look forward to the Dialogue with Refugee Women to be held in April - the strengths, capacities and creativity of women refugees will make the critical difference for real change next year.
Ambassador Storella, Hon. Minister, all present here tonight - we hope when we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Convention next year, we will be able to say that the population of refugees has reduced dramatically - we agree with Sarah, the objective of our work is to put ourselves out of business. Once again a warm thanks to all of you. Refugees are protected and find solutions because of you.