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OPENING STATE TENT BY THE HIGH COMMISSIONER
TO THE TWENTY-NINTH SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF
THE HIGH COMMISSIONER'S PROGRAMME
9 October 1978
vir. Chairman, Distinguished Delegates,
Welcome to this session of the Executive Committee.
Many of you know this Committee better than I. For me, this is the first session. I, therefore, have much to learn from you. I trust, though, that the immediacy and freshness of my impressions will be of help to you.
It is nine months, to the day, since I assumed this responsibility. A period long enough to visit twenty-five countries in four continents, see for myself where and what some of our principal problems are.
to
Long enough to gauge their gravity and to know that UNHCR symbolizes a great humanitarian ideal and commitment.
Long enough, also, to realize
that for the world's refugees and displaced persons, a few months - or occasion, even, a few hours - can tragically mean an eternity of suffering and insecurity unless we, jointly, provide solutions that are urgent and humane.
Our work is serious, because its purpose is to protect and reconstruct life and to preserve human dignity. There can be few more challenging, or sobering, undertakings.
It is therefore particularly gratifying that, in addition to the members of this Committee, we have present with us today a large number of observers representing Covernments, Inter-Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations, Liberation Movements and the United Nations system.
Your presence provides a clear indication of the universality of the refugee problem, of the determination that we should search for solutions on
HCR/50A/5/72
G3.73-10152
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