Supporting refugees’ host countries should be seen as investment in a global public good: Envoy

 Addis Ababa, June 14, 2023 (FBC) – Tsegab Kebebew, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the UN Office at Geneva and other International Organizations in Switzerland is participating in the 87th session of the UNHCR Standing Committee meeting which was kicked off today and will continue until June 16, 2023 in Geneva.

Ambassador Tsegab in his statement said that supporting the host countries should be seen as an investment in a global public good not exclusively as a charitable gesture. Humanity should be the main driver of humanitarian assistance and it should not be affected by race, gender, colour, geography, origin, or destinations, he added.

He stressed that despite Ethiopia’s challenge by internal problems and drought it continued its generosity of welcoming people fleeing from conflict.

He mentioned that over 110,000 new arrivals have been welcomed from Somalia and Sudan in 2022 and 2023 alone. He also highlighted the continued underfunding for the protection of migrants in Ethiopia.

He further briefed Ethiopia’s preparation for the upcoming Global Refugee Forum and called upon partners to make mega pledges.

He expressed his wish that the Forum would lead us toward a fairer and sustainable way of sharing responsibility.

Refugees cannot wait for four years to get protection; they need our support every day and therefore hosting countries should make pledges every day not every four years Ambassador Tsegab emphasized.

The UNHCR standing committee meeting is taking place in Geneva from June 14-16, 2023 and Ethiopia is actively participating in the meeting.