72. session of the UNHCR Executive Committee took place in Geneva
11.10.2021
Delegation of Poland participated in the 72nd session of the Executive Committee of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was held on 4-8 October, 2021, in Geneva. The Committee is an annual forum for discussion of member states on the directions of activities in the field of international protection and the situation of refugees in the world, as well as the UNHCR activities in this area.
At the meeting Poland expressed appreciation to UNHCR’s involvement in providing critical assistance to its persons of concern under current health emergency circumstances, especially in the context of the 70th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention. Poland informed about international assistance delivered this year, including our involvement in evacuation of the Afghan civilian population, and the multilateral donations for humanitarian crises in the Middle East: in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Yemen. Since 2012 Poland’s overall contributions for the UNHCR amounted to 7,2 mln USD.
Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland, amb. Zbigniew Czech highlighted the current situation on the Polish-Belarusian border, calling on the Belarusian authorities to take full responsibility for those who have been granted legal permissions to stay on their territory, as well as the UNCHR and other states to condemn the process of instrumentalisation of migration and stop irregular migration flows through Belarus. ‘It is with highest concern for us to observe that in our region the irregular migration is used as an instrument to exert pressure and achieve political goals’ - emphasized amb. Zbigniew Czech.
In his opening speech, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi highlighted relatively new factors - in addition to conflicts and persecution – causing the constantly growing scale of forced displacement in the world: consequences of the Covd-19 pandemic and the effects of climate change. He also attached great importance to the alarming issue of internal displacement underlining that the main responsibility for IDPs should rest upon the authorities of the countries in which the displacement occurs.
In the regional context, the High Commissioner referred to this year's Afghanistan's refugee and humanitarian crisis, mentioning the enormous burden on the neighboring countries receiving significant number of refugees, including Pakistan, Iraq and Turkey. He stressed the need for a coherent implementation of the security, development, climate action and good governance agenda, recalling in this regard the refugee crises in the Ethiopian region of Tigray, central Sahel and Yemen. ‘The greatest opportunity for solutions comes when peace is achieved and countries of origin and asylum work together to find solutions for the displaced’ - he said.
According to UNHCR statistics, by the end of 2020, over 91 million people came under the care of UNHCR worldwide, an increase from 86.5 million in 2019. Of the total, 20.7 million were refugees and more than 48 million were internally displaced persons (IDPs).
