US/Human Rights/Refugees - An unbal

[Rangoonp@xxxxxxx]

Subject: US/Human Rights/Refugees - An unbalanced funding for refugees

NOTE: An unbalanced funding for refugees.  
-Apparently- the majority of the money going to Kosovars to fix their
lives. Less we not forget, there are refugees in Many more parts of the
world that have been refugees far longer than the Kosovars have been.


US/Human Rights/Refugees

U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
Press Statement

Press Statement by James P. Rubin, Spokesman
July 21, 1999


Under Secretary Loy meets with UN High Commissioner;
U.S. to provide $61.7 million for Refugees
Under Secretary for Global Affairs Frank E. Loy met today with Sadako
Ogata,
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, to exchange views on Kosovo and other
key
refugee issues of concern to both the United States and UNHCR. Mrs.
Ogata
was told that the Department will provide an additional $61.7 million to
UNHCR to aid refugees in Kosovo and elsewhere in the world.

The officials agreed on the importance of ensuring that refugees in
other
parts of the world, particularly in Africa, are not forgotten. Mrs.
Ogata
recently visited the Great Lakes region of Africa, and told African
leaders
that peace and development were the only hope to resolve the continent's
refugee crisis.

The $61.7 million includes $50 million to support UNHCR's programs to
assist
Kosovar refugees and displaced persons to return home and begin
rebuilding
their lives and their communities. The remaining $11.7 million will
support
the refugee agency's General Program in other parts of the world.

The donation for Kosovo includes $10 million to establish a Kosovar
Women's
Initiative. The initiative will support projects--counseling, job
training,
microcredit--similar to those funded under the Bosnian Women's
Initiative.

The donation also includes $5 million for UNHCR to implement
humanitarian
projects in Montenegro. The remainder of the U.S. funds would support
other
components of UNHCR programs tied to the crisis in Kosovo. These
include,
among others, repairing damaged shelters and preparing them for winter;
health and water services; logistical requirements and delivery of
supplies;
protection (registration, measures to ensure physical security of
refugees,
etc.), and food.

The $11.7 million will provide support for ongoing refugee situations in
Africa and other parts of the world. The U.S. is the single largest

donor
nation to UNHCR, providing $249 million in fiscal year 1998 and
committing
$238 million to date in fiscal year 1999. Contributions are provided
through
the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

[end of document]