Gamal Nkrumah sounds out the UNHCR's Assistant Representative for Durable Solutions on the forthcoming OIC Ministerial Conference in the Pakistani capital Islamabad As part of its ongoing strategy of cementing ties with Muslim nations, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in conjunction with the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) are organising a summitin the Pakistani capital Islamabad scheduled for 27-29 November. UNHCR Assistant Representative for Pakistan , former UNRWA official in Jerusalem, Special Operations Protection Officer in Bosnia and Croatia and Senior Liaison Officer at the Regional UNHCR office Bangkok, Thailand is cautiously optimistic about prospects for Muslim refugees around the world. The Sri Lankan national says that cooperation between the world body and Muslim nations and non-governmental organisations and charities is key to the alleviation of the refuggees' suffering. The 57 Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) member states host roughly half of the world's refugee population. Why do you reckon that half of the global refugee population are in Muslim states and how can we remedy the situation? Protection of refugees and the institution of asylum both have a long and very positive tradition in the Islamic world, dating back to the seventh century. Migration and asylum have been permanent features of the Islamic experience since that time and are at the root of the strong humanitarian tradition of refuge which continues to this day in the cultures and national policies of many Islamic states. We only need to look at the many millions of Afghan refugees hosted generously for decades in Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Reaffirmation of the commitment to extend protection to those in need is but giving form to substance of an established practice. There are about 20.8 million refugees and other persons of concern to the UNHCR today. The OIC's 57 member states are host to an estimated 9.4 million refugees and persons of concern to UNHCR, which is a considerable portion of the global total of some 19 million persons within UNHCR's responsibilities. These facts alone substantiate that member states have a real and immediate interest in working to avert new movements and in resolving situations of forced displacement in a conclusive way. What are the main themes that will be tackled at "The Problem of Refugees in the Muslim World" scheduled to take place in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on 27-29 November? The conference is intended to serve as a platform to focus the attention of OIC member states on refugee-related issues in the Muslim world, with a goal of fostering support for the institution of asylum as well as highlighting the contribution of these states to the protection of and assistance to refugees. The conference will focus on three major themes: enhancing refugee protection in the Muslim world; enhancing multilateral cooperation in resolving refugee situations; and intensifying the search for durable solutions as well as initiatives and conditions necessary for achieving sustainable solutions. What are the objectives of the Islamabad conference? The aim of the conference is to highlight ways and means to enhance refugee protection in member states of the OIC, seek durable solutions, and foster multilateral cooperation and burden sharing to refugee situations. Is there a danger of the conference degenerating into a talking shop, and what are the expected outcomes? The OIC member states will be deliberating on two important documents, namely the Islamabad Declaration and the associated Plan of Action, which are intended to be the main outcome of the conference in November. UNHCR is working closely with the OIC and the Government of Pakistan to ensure that these are substantive documents which address the real issues which have been confronting OIC member countries for a considerable amount of time now. The value of the documents will lie in the extent to which they catalyse genuine multilateral cooperation to resolve refugee situations, within a proper framework of international refugee protection principles, solidarity and burden sharing. What are the main methods of enhancing refugee protection in the Muslim world? Active partnerships among OIC governments, as well as with regional and international financial institutions, civil society and the private sector, will be essential to provide the necessary funding and technical expertise to enhance an institutional capacity within the OIC to rapidly respond to displacement. Why are the Palestinians excluded from UNHCR? Why do they come under the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)? When the 1951 Refugee Convention was adopted and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees established Palestinian refugees falling within the UNRWA mandate, they were excluded from coverage under UNHCR's mandate. In effect, this has meant that UNHCR does not count Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, or the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinian refugees who do not live within UNRWA's areas of operations fall within the scope of UNHCR's competency. By far the most protracted and largest of all refugee problems in the world today is that of the Palestinian refugees: dating back 57 years, with today more than 4.2 million dispersed across the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. UNHCR's mandate does not extend to the majority of Palestinian refugees (by virtue of Paragraph 7 (c) of the organisation statute, which excludes persons who continue to receive from other agencies of the United Nations protection or assistance) because they fall under the mandate of UNRWA. Palestinian refugees who do not live within UNRWA's areas of operations (the agency operates in three states -- Jordan, Lebanon and Syria -- as well as the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) fall within the competency of UNHCR. Could you please inform us about the refugee situation in Darfur? UN secretary-general, after all, has called Darfur the world's worst humanitarian disaster zone. Humanitarian agencies are already struggling to cope with the enormous needs of some two million internally displaced people inside Darfur, plus more than 200,000 refugees in 12 UNHCR-run camps across the border in Chad. As of 8 September, UNHCR had six offices and nearly 100 staff in South and West Darfur to carry out protection monitoring activities. It is hard to comprehend the enormity of the crisis we would face if there is additional large-scale displacement in Darfur. Even without the violence and insecurity, humanitarian operations in this remote and resource-poor region are extremely difficult. The one bright spot in the region, the ongoing UNHCR repatriation of thousands of Sudanese refugees and displaced back to their homes in Southern Sudan, could also be severely affected should the Darfur crisis worsen. Staff and resources would almost certainly have to be diverted from the Southern Sudan operation to contend with any new displacement from Darfur. The Southern Sudan repatriation operation is itself facing a severe funding shortfall. How best can relatively wealthy Muslim countries such as the oil-rich Arab Gulf states contribute effectively to resolving the refugee population in Muslim lands? Active partnerships among OIC governments, as well as with regional and international financial institutions, civil society and the private sector, will be essential to provide the necessary funding and technical expertise to enhance an institutional capacity within the OIC to rapidly respond to displacement. What role do you expect of Muslim charities, especially since many were blacklisted after 9/ 11? UNHCR has many years of experience with Islamic charities in the Middle East, the Gulf, south-east Europe and south- west Asia. Islamic humanitarian groups have been active in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq and many African countries in easing the suffering of those forcibly displaced by conflict. OIC members have been generous in funding refugee programmes, primarily on a bilateral basis. Of the $4.3 billion UNHCR has channelled through various NGOs and implementing partners over the past decade, some $1.6 billion (37 per cent) were used in humanitarian programmes in OIC countries. In 2003, for example, UNHCR worked with a total of 572 NGO partners worldwide, 153 of them from OIC countries. These NGOs work principally in health and nutrition, shelter, education, legal assistance and protection, water and sanitation, and transport and logistics. Could you give a brief outline of how the OIC and the UNHCR and other UN-affiliated agencies could collaborate closely to ease the refugee crisis in Muslim countries? UNHCR immediately swung into action after the Lebanese started fleeing their homes to escape Israeli air strikes. The UN refugee agency sent an emergency team to reinforce staff already on the ground in Lebanon and Syria as it geared up for a multi-million-dollar operation to assist those displaced by the conflict. By the end of the month-long war, more than 700,000 Lebanese were displaced inside their country and some 180,000 were sheltered in Syria. In the first stage of our phased operation, we focussed on providing humanitarian assistance and protection to the most vulnerable Lebanese displaced in Lebanon and Syria. Our first relief convoy -- carrying 140 tonnes of emergency relief items like mattresses and blankets for the displaced -- arrived in Beirut from Syria on 29 July. With the ceasefire, UNHCR teams turned to monitoring the rush of Lebanese back home. In the first two days, some 46,000 returned just from Syria. We continue to respond to the needs of the returnees in Lebanon. Our relief response is part of the joint effort by UN agencies and is closely coordinated with the Lebanese government's Higher Relief Committee as well as international partners. As the world's second largest inter- governmental organisation after the United Nations, with 57 member states and four observer states, the OIC has observer status at the United Nations, on a reciprocal basis, and it cooperates with the United Nations in all areas of concern, including support to the Governments of Member States in their efforts to promote economic and social development. There is an established track record of United Nations/OIC cooperation, both at the institutional and working relations levels, at the headquarters as well as in the field. When addressing the 2000 OIC Summit in Doha UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan noted that the endeavours of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan were supported and complemented by the efforts of the OIC, in particular the OIC Committee on Afghanistan. The important diplomatic efforts of the Group of "Six plus Two" which supported the United Nations efforts in Afghanistan were highlighted, particularly as five of Afghanistan's neighbouring states are also members of the OIC.
