UN refugee agency Head Guterres urges States to support displaced people

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) António Guterres called on OSCE participating States on 20 February 2014 to provide massive international support to share the burden of the crisis in Syria.

Speaking at the OSCE Permanent Council, Guterres called on States “to keep their borders open for Syrians who are forced to flee and seek protection elsewhere”. He said the conflict had “caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in decades”; with a direct impact on the OSCE region and specifically participating States in the neighbourhood, such as Turkey.

On Afghanistan, Guterres said the country faces a watershed year in 2014 with elections in April, the withdrawal of ISAF and a complex economic transition ahead. He said refugees from the country particularly need support, and Afghanistan’s neighbours and the international community have a role to play, including in the area of border control. “I count on the OSCE institutions and participating States to support these efforts,” he stressed.

He also pointed to unresolved displacement issues in in the Western Balkans and Caucasus, giving credit to the Sarajevo Process, which involved joint work by the governments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia, and the Regional Housing Programme, which showed good co-operation between the UNHCR and the OSCE.

A joint UNHCR-OSCE ‘Protection Checklist’ to help identify displaced persons’ protection needs at all stages of the conflict cycle was launched after the meeting by Guterrres, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier and OSCE Permanent Council Chair Ambassador Thomas Greminger of Switzerland. It aims to strengthen co-operation between the OSCE and its partners to effectively address forced displacement and protection of displaced populations and affected communities in the OSCE area.