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refugee situations. However, even though we have this annual cycle, we are
trying increasingly to develop a longer term view, especially insofar as we
have to steer our minds and our action toward durable solutions whenever this
is possible. Sometimes, these can only be achieved over a matter of several
years. Much has been said - and I hope, done about improving our capacity
for programme delivery and monitoring. We now feel the need, more than ever,
to develop our longer-term planning from a solution-oriented perspective.
course we have already been doing this, both for new problems or for problems
which linger on year after year. This is in our mandate. But can we do more
and better?
Of
Wi
however remote
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While never giving up hope that one day
the refugee
problem will subside, we should, in the face of realities and past evolution,
look at the problem as a long-term one. Refugees have been with us in
considerable numbers for decades. Why not admit that the refugee problem will
be with us for a long time to come? Solutions have indeed been found and
implemented, sometimes for very large numbers, year after year. But new
refugees, and new problems, have constantly emerged. As a consequence, though
the list of solutions is long, the overall balance in terms of numbers
reflects unfavourably on mankind: there were some 1,5 million refugees in
1951 when UNHCR started its activities; there are some ten million today.
Numbers are not all. In a way, however, the magnitude of the refugee problem
is an indicator of the state of the world. True, there have been, these last
two years, fewer refugee generating crises than in the years before.
Yet,
even if, in the future, there were no new refugee influx anywhere, it would
take the world a long time to absorb the backlog it has created. Very often, a situation of initially modest scope gains momentum and turns into a lasting problem; solutions, when they are possible, are often only partial.
Therefore, we have good reasons to look into the future of our activities.
All those concerned with refugee work including of course UNHCR,
governments and non-governmental organisations must develop not only the
will but also the capacity to achieve durable solutions. We all know there
are obstacles on the road to a durable solution. Some cannot be overcome, and