RIYADH, 6 February 2007 — The Kingdom will attend an international conference on Iraqi refugees to be held in Geneva in mid-April as part of its multilateral cooperation program involving the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
This was announced at a press conference held on Sunday night by UNHCR Chief Antonio Guterres following talks with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, Crown Prince Sultan and Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal.
“Thanks to my talks with the king, our partnership with the Kingdom will now move forward,” he said.
King Abdullah decorated the UN official with the King Abdul Aziz Sash of the Second Order in recognition of his efforts in the cause of refugees. Earlier, Prince Faisal ibn Abdullah, president of the Saudi Red Crescent Society, hosted a dinner in honor of the UNHCR chief.
He said more than 50 percent of refugees around the world are Muslims. “They are suffering everywhere because of rising intolerance. Even in the Gulf... we have seen new manifestations of xenophobia, populism and growing hatred,” he said.
The UNHCR last month launched a $60 million appeal for the rehabilitation of displaced Iraqis. Guterres said: “The situation is grim. Some one million Iraqis have been displaced internally, while over two million others have fled the country representing one of the biggest flows of refugees in history. We are trying to mobilize all available resources for the rehabilitation of these victims. Besides, we are organizing a conference in Geneva to raise funds for these refugees.”
All charitable and humanitarian relief organizations would be invited to participate in the conference. “Delegates from Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Kuwait and Jordan are also expected to attend the conference. Jordan and Syria are already facing huge problems created by the influx of these refugees ... it is the duty of the international community to come to their rescue,” Guterres said.
The high commissioner said refugees are not terrorists. They are the victims of terrorism and need support, he said.
Guterres said political commitment was necessary for any solution of the refugee problem. Equally important was the need to deal with the root cause of the disease rather than its symptom. “Only the governments and political institutions can provide the basis of a political solution,” he said.
Asked to spell out UNHCR s stand on the refugees who were resisting occupation as in Palestine and Iraq, he said one has to distinguish between those fighting occupation of their lands and those who flee their country and seek asylum.
Guterres will also visit Kuwait, Jordan and Syria, a UNHCR spokesman said in Geneva on Friday. He will meet the Iraqi minister for migration and displacement in Jordan. Guterres is touring the Middle East to assess programs for hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees in the region.
