Ambassador Affey’s statement: near verbatim transcript

Thank you very much for making the time to attend this briefing. I shall make some brief remarks, then open up for questions.

We are living in troubling times, when for the first time in UNHCR’s 65-year history the threshold of 60 million has been crossed in terms of global forced displacement. Wars and persecution have driven more people from their homes than at any time since UNHCR records began.

Somalia—the reason we are gathered here today—is counted among the top three refugee producing countries in the world, alongside Syria and Afghanistan.

And my mandate, as UNHCR Special Envoy on the Somali refugee situation, is to help renew efforts to find durable solutions for Somali refugees while also advocating for the preservation of asylum for those in continued need of international protection.

Somalia’s refugee exodus started in 1991 following the collapse of the central government. Although for over 25 years, Somali citizens have lived in refugee camps. Whereas Syria and Afghanistan continue to command world attention, Somalia’s refugees have become “a forgotten story”.

One of the reasons for establishing my office as UNHCR Special Envoy on the Somali refugee situation is to refocus attention on this population, which is in need of protection, and to galvanize support for elaborate and decisive regional durable solutions.

The Somali refugee situation is among the most protracted in the world. It has been going on for over two decades, affecting three generations of Somalis. There are currently over one million Somali refugees living in exile in the region (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Yemen), while some 1.1 million Somalis remain displaced within Somalia.

Statistics cannot do justice to the trauma and stigma that accompanies life in exile, where the majority of refugees face an uncertain future. Food, nutrition, health, sanitation, shelter and other basic needs are in many cases inadequately catered for, while opportunities for education, employment or other forms of self-realization are limited.

I toured refugee camps in all the countries I visited, namely Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. I saw for myself the challenges in providing assistance. There is no honor in remaining in a refugee camp for 30 years. It nurtures loss of identity and loss of hope. It creates stigma.

The best way forward is for us to refocus attention, support refugee protection and create hope. We have a moral obligation to mobilize the necessary support to create viable and sustainable conditions for them so that one day they may contribute to the reconstruction of the country.

In parts of Somalia we have seen security and political gains that prompted some Somali refugees to make the choice to return home.  UNHCR and partners continue to provide support to those refugees who make that choice. However, the situation in the country does not yet lend itself to voluntary repatriation on a massive scale.  The proportion of the Somali population that are internally displaced or living as refugees is a crisis by any standard.

The government and the people of Somalia continue to make important improvements. For example, they are preparing to hold presidential elections this month. However, the country still requires massive international assistance.

We do continue to assist refugees who wish to return to Somalia voluntarily, while those who don’t will continue to require international protection. In Djibouti I met refugees who expressed the wish to return to Somalia. In Yemen as in Ethiopia quite a number of Somalis have expressed the desire to return home. In Dadaab as we speak, Somali refugees are returning home.

Until the situation in Somalia improves, I am asking governments to consider implementing medium to longer term progressive solutions that build on the talent and capacities of refugees and do not force them to be perpetually dependent on humanitarian assistance.

Access to education and livelihood opportunities will ensure that refugees are equipped to assist in rebuilding Somalia when they choose to return.

Efforts are ongoing to mobilize the international community to help expedite solutions to the Somali refugee situation. But these endeavors are not without challenges. We have also seen growing pressures on host countries, along with occasional indications of asylum fatigue.

Indeed one of my main roles is to counter the possibility of asylum fatigue setting in, by promoting burden-sharing through international support. I am appealing for host communities to receive support in order for them to feel that responsibility is being shared. Host communities are the frontline ambassadors of their countries. We must avoid asylum fatigue setting in by helping host communities in a deliberate way.

We must also support refugees to become self-reliant, and contribute to the economic growth of the places where they live. In Ethiopia, I visited a farming project involving refugees and members of the host community. It was transformational in terms of providing food security and maintaining refugees’ dignity. In Kenya, refugees have received education up to university level which helped them become productive members of society. Many are now politicians in Somalia. In the video clip we saw refugees doing good business in Uganda, and in Djibouti. In all of these countries, refugees’ potential is being exploited for positive advantage.

The Somalia situation is competing for attention and resources with dramatic new or reignited conflicts and situations of insecurity that are occurring in Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Ukraine and other parts of the world. With these crises, the problems of Somalia which started 25 years ago can easily be forgotten.

Somali refugees have been fortunate that Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Yemen have in general maintained solidarity and kept their doors open, extending asylum and protection, notwithstanding the hardships and sacrifices that this entails. These countries have kept their borders open in a world where borders are not always opened, and have received a large number of people independent of the consequences that inflow has had on their societies and their economies.

This is what we need to appreciate. We are very proud of the hospitality and kindness that these countries have extended to Somali refugees. Over a very long period of time, they have provided shelter to their brothers and sisters seeking protection.

In recent weeks, as Special Envoy, I met with Presidents and Prime Ministers in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. Without exception they assured me of their commitment to continued protection of Somali refugees and to finding solutions to the Somali situation. They want the international community to do more to prevent young refugees from joining dangerous organizations because they have lost hope. Providing young refugees with access to university, and to job skills, is one of the greatest challenges.

These leaders are concerned that after so many years, one in ten Somalis remains in protracted exile in the sub-region. They welcomed the direction that UNHCR is taking, through its collaboration with the Africa Union and IGAD, and gave their assurances that they would continue to honor their international obligations towards refugees.

During my tour, I also held fruitful discussions with our partners in IGAD and the African Union, all of whom welcomed the opportunity to coalesce around efforts to promote regional durable solutions for Somali refugees. They welcomed the proposal of a regional framework; sustainable solutions cannot be bilaterally negotiated with individual countries. A collective decision is the only way to confront conclusively the interests of the Somali people. A regional conference will be organized under the auspices of IGAD to examine the issues in detail and come up with practical solutions.

In all countries, I was able to interact with refugees in both camp and urban settings. While expressing gratitude to the host countries, they lamented the lack of investment in meaningful refugee education. If a child does not receive proper formal education, what use will they be to their country? Their community? Even to themselves? I could see in the refugees’ eyes hunger for the education of their children.

Refugees pointed out that the absence of opportunities for proper schooling and employment was driving young people to take dangerous migration to Europe through other countries and the sea.

Some refugees told me they are open to returning home, or to third country resettlement. They asked for the opportunity to go and see for themselves the conditions inside Somalia. UNHCR continues to enable Somalis to “go-and-see” the conditions in return areas and report back to camp residents for the full spectrum of needs and concerns. This is a normal practice in voluntary repatriation operations, to help refugees make informed decisions about return.

It is important to embark on processes that make refugees self-reliant and productive members of the communities where they are currently living, also so as to help address the hopelessness and despair that can in extreme cases lead to radicalization, crime and insecurity. Durable solutions—whether voluntary repatriation, resettlement or local integration—will require political will, courage, determination, resolve and leadership.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the donors who have invested heavily in programmes to protect Somali refugees. Their support has helped sustain three generations of refugees who were unable to return home. That support must continue.

It was evident during my tour that the long-term presence of large numbers of refugees creates unbearable pressures on natural resources, like water and forests. I saw efforts to provide community-based infrastructure as a means to mitigating potential conflict. However, humanitarian partners that are charged with protecting and assisting refugees are struggling under the weight of under-funded programmes. This is not unique to the Somalia situation; it is the biggest challenge we are facing in UNHCR globally.

To date UNHCR’s requirements for the Somalia situation are funded at 25%. With the resulting shortfall of USD 362 million, the agency is unable to meet basic standards in providing of education, health, water, sanitation and other services for Somali refugees. Just last week, UNHCR’s main operational partner—the World Food Programme—announced that it had been forced to make new cuts in food rations amid a severe funding shortage, as the agency is rapidly running out of resources to feed the 434,000 refugees living in Kenya’s Dadaab and Kakuma camps and in the new Kalobeyei settlement. Food cuts are devastating. They create nutrition crises.

With this in mind, I would like to close by saying that without regional and international solidarity and responsibility-sharing it will be nearly impossible to make positive progress towards realizing durable solutions for Somali refugees.  We now have collective regional attention under the auspices of IGAD. We are calling on the international community to join in a deliberate effort to resolve the Somalia situation.

Momentum must be maintained in Somalia to implement the objectives detailed in the New Deal Compact and the Humanitarian Response Plan, including the future frameworks that are currently being elaborated. You will recall the New York Declaration of 19 September 2016, which was a milestone for global solidarity and refugee protection at a time of unprecedented human displacement. Within that declaration lies the hopes for lasting solutions to the plight of the displaced populations of Somalia. UNHCR has prioritized the Somalia situation and will apply The New York Declaration’s Comprehensive Response Plan Framework, using a phased approach (starting with Kenya-Somalia).

The objectives of the New York Declaration provide a blueprint for concerted action by governments, multilateral and bi-lateral actors to bring about those solutions in terms of:

• Supporting efforts to improve conditions in Somalia in order to promote the return of its people in safety and dignity. As part of my mandate, I shall hold conversations with Somali leaders, civil society and the business community. They cannot discuss the future of the country without taking into account those who are in exile.
• Easing pressure on host countries by providing timely and dependable humanitarian funding while robustly investing in communities that host refugees;
• Enhancing refugee self-reliance by increasing opportunities for refugee adults to work, and for children to go to school—making them productive members of society, contributing to the economies of the places where they reside in readiness for a durable solution.

This will take time.  A peaceful prosperous Somalia, ready for massive return will not happen overnight. Substantial resources and time are needed. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

We need the commitment of regional leaders coming together, the will of the government and people of Somalia, and the opportunity   to contribute to the renaissance of Somalia.

There is no dignity, no pride in being a refugee by an accident of circumstance for 30 years!

Please don’t get tired. No donor fatigue. No asylum fatigue.

Thank you.