志野大使による国連難民高等弁務官事務所（UNHCR）執行委員会における一般討論ステートメント（平成29年10月04日）
平成29年10月16日
Statement by Ambassador Mitsuko SHINO
The Permanent Mission of Japan in Geneva
in the General Debate
Palais des Nations, Geneva
(4 October 2017)
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me start by paying tribute to the staff of UNHCR for their dedicated work for refugees and displaced persons in the world and also to the leadership of High Commissioner Grandi.
Japan is a strong supporter of UNHCR and I am pleased to announce that, as of September, Japan already contributed approximately 150 million US dollars to UNHCR this year, which includes emergency grant aid in seven country situations.
Madam Chair,
Japan welcomes the holding of a special segment on CRRF at this year’s Executive Committee. Solidarity among the international community is essential in addressing the unprecedented refugee and displacement crisis. Japan will continue to strongly support the efforts towards the implementation of the CRRF. We will also draw on our experience and knowledge to provide input towards the formulation of the Global Compact on Refugees.
I personally visited Uganda in early September, where CRRF has been rolled out. There I saw for myself the importance of catering to the needs of both the refugees and the host community as laid out in the CRRF. I also learned that even before adopting the CRRF, the Ugandan government has been implementing a refugee policy that is in line with its philosophy. I felt that there is much we can learn from their experience.
While in Uganda, I also had the opportunity to observe the work being carried out by Japanese NGOs and Japan’s development agency, JICA. Their work is targeted at both refugees and the local community and also at local governments in refugee host communities. Since July, JICA has begun conducting a survey on basic infrastructure. The information gathered through this survey will provide an overview of the needs of the region as a whole, including the settlements where refugees are living. We hope that this initiative will contribute to the implementation of the CRRF.
Madam Chair,
Lasting solutions for the refugee issue cannot be achieved solely through lifesaving humanitarian assistance. Education and livelihood assistance is necessary for the self-reliance of refugees for the day when the time comes for them to repatriate or resettle. Development assistance for host communities is necessary to ensure that refugee flows do not result in new crises. Also, when refugees repatriate, reconstruction and peace building assistance for stabilization need to be in place. Furthermore, in order to prevent the occurrence of conflict, which is one of the root causes of the refugee crisis, poverty reduction and economic development assistance is essential. Japan will provide appropriate responses, bearing in mind the specificity of each situation, based on this approach of the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus.
Madam Chair,
The Syrian crisis is now in its seventh year and host countries have been left with a huge burden. It goes without saying that the international community’s role in addressing the situation is crucial. As part of our commitment announced last year, 28 Syrian students were welcomed to Japan for postgraduate level education. We expect that such educational opportunities will not only serve as a complementary pathway for the vulnerable population, but will also contribute to building the capacities of the youth of today who will be rebuilding Syria tomorrow.
We are deeply concerned at the situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and Bangladesh with the recent large inflows of people to the country. Japan appreciates Bangladesh’s efforts in hosting such large numbers of people, and urges the international community to cooperate with the concerned countries and organizations to address this situation. It is essential that security situation is restored and humanitarian access is secured so that appropriate assistance can reach those who are in need. For our part, in addition to the 12 million dollars that we provided early this year, Japan has decided to provide a further 4 million dollars to address the situation.
Madam Chair,
Japan places great importance on the concept of Human Security as a pillar of our diplomatic policy. I would like to conclude by reiterating our intension to continue our cooperation with UNCHR and the international community in the aim of finding durable solutions to the refugee and displacement issues and building lasting peace.
Thank you.