PH Reaffirms Commitment to Work with Global Community to Resolve Refugee Problem

Ambassador Evan P. Garcia, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the UN and other International Organizations, expresses the Philippines solidarity with the international community in addressing the plight of refugees worldwide at the UNHCR Executive Session at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday, on October 04.

06 October 2017 GENEVA – The Philippines reaffirmed its commitment to work with the international community in finding meaningful protection and durable solutions for refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons in order to ease their suffering. This is what Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN and other International Organizations Ambassador Evan P. Garcia expressed at the General Debate of the UNHCR Executive Session in Geneva, Switzerland on October 04.

“The Philippines could not agree more with the High Commissioner in emphasizing that we need to double our efforts and accelerate the shift to a new model of response in addressing the new and ongoing crises and protracted displacement. The complexity of the protracted refugee situations worldwide, including the large-scale influxes in the context of mixed movements indeed require our collective effort to provide creative measures in addressing these challenges,” said Ambassador Garcia.

“We share the view of the High Commissioner that the New York Declaration is a reaffirmation of the international protection regime, and that the principle of burden- and responsibility-sharing is very critical at this juncture. Strong political commitment is undoubtedly needed from the global community,” he added.

Ambassador Garcia said that the Philippines will continue the Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM), a cooperation arrangement with the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that allows for the immediate evacuation of refugees who are at risk of refoulement and persecution. The Philippines is also the only one in Asia to have established a stateless status determination procedure.

At the multilateral level, the Philippines also supports advocacies that find solutions to address root causes of cross-border movements. It continues to participate in the Platform on Disaster Displacement, a state-led mechanism that works to enhance cooperation to improve the protection of disaster displaced persons. It has also been actively engaging in the discourse on the Global Compact on Migration.

Ambassador Garcia concluded his statement by lauding the UNHCR, and its dedicated staff, for their efforts and selfless dedication to duty and humanity to address the plight of refugees and forcibly displaced.

High Commissioner Filippo Grandi, in response during the General Debate, expressed his gratitude to the Philippines for its contributions to the UNHCR, including the individual donations of the Filipino people to its operations. Further, he stressed that the UNHCR values the strong solid cooperation between the Philippines and the UNHCR in addressing forced displacement.

The Executive Committee of the UNHCR meets in Geneva every year in October to evaluate, review and approve the agency’s programmes and budget, to provide advise on international protection and to discuss a range of other issues with UNHCR and with intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. The Executive Committee session this year concluded on October 06. END

For more information, visit www.genevapm.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/genevapcg.