General Assembly Session 58 meeting 23

The President

I should like to draw the attention of the General Assembly to document A/58/396, containing a note by the Secretary-General, under sub-item (d) of agenda item 16, relating to the election of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

By its decision 55/310 of 26 October 2000, the General Assembly, on the proposal of the Secretary-General (A/55/519), elected Mr. Ruud Lubbers as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for a period of three years, beginning on 1 January 2001.

By its resolution 57/186 of 18 December 2002, the General Assembly decided to continue the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for a further period of five years from 1 January 2004.

In conformity with the procedure established by paragraph 13 of the statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Secretary-General proposes to the General Assembly that the term of office of Mr. Ruud Lubbers as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees be extended for a period of two years, beginning on 1 January 2004 and ending on 31 December 2005.

May I therefore consider that the General Assembly approves the proposals contained in document A/58/396 and decides to extend the term of office of Mr. Ruud Lubbers as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for a period of two years, beginning on 1 January 2004 and ending on 31 December 2005?

The President

I should like, on behalf of the Assembly, to congratulate Mr. Ruud Lubbers on the extension of his appointment as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

I give the floor to the representative of China, who will make a statement on behalf of the Group of Asian States.

Mr. Xie Bohua (China)

Allow me to speak on behalf of the Asian Group.

The Asian Group supports the proposal made by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to extend the term of office of Mr. Ruud Lubbers for a period of two years. Since Mr. Lubbers came into office in 2001, he has done a great deal to address the problem of refugees throughout the world, and great progress has been made. We wish to express our appreciation for his efforts.

The Asian Group is ready to work closely with Mr. Ruud Lubbers, as well as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and will continue its efforts to find a solution to the question of refugees worldwide.

The President

I give the floor to the representative of Lithuania, who will make a statement on behalf of the Group of Eastern European States.

Mr. Serksnys (Lithuania)

Lithuania, as Chairman of the regional Group of Eastern European States for the month of October, has the honour to speak on behalf of our delegations.

Twenty-one Eastern European States fully support the Secretary-General's proposal to extend the term of office of Mr. Ruud Lubbers as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for the next two years.

It is a great pleasure for me to congratulate, on behalf of the Group, Mr. Ruud Lubbers on the extension of his appointment.

I should like to express the Group's full satisfaction at his confirmation by the General Assembly in this very important post and to assure Mr. Ruud Lubbers of our continuous support for the efforts of the High Commissioner.

I should like also to express the appreciation of my Group of States to the High Commissioner and to his staff for their constant attention to the fundamental principles of refugee protection -- principles we all must strive to implement and to safeguard.

Over the past three years, Mr. Ruud Lubbers has been fully dedicated to the implementation of the common goals of the United Nations in the area of human rights and the rights of refugees. That period was marked by a real transformation in the area of the protection of human rights and by a shared vision and concern on the part of the entire international community.

We are pleased to underscore that Mr. Ruud Lubbers always stands for the rights of the weakest and most vulnerable, sometimes confronting the interests of the strong and powerful.

In our struggle against the new threat of terrorism, we can always hear Mr. Lubbers' voice -- a strong request to observe human rights and protect human beings. The High Commissioner always guards against overly restrictive procedures and practices that are not consistent with international refugee law. He works within a framework comprising international refugee, human rights and humanitarian law, and internationally accepted standards for the treatment of refugees and other persons of concern to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The success of the humanitarian operations carried out by UNHCR in order to save the lives of millions of refugees and displaced persons has become a matter of critical importance as a prerequisite for peace and stability.

We are convinced that, under his leadership, the work of UNHCR will continue to be enhanced. The High Commissioner's initiatives -- to strengthen UNHCR as a multinational institution; the "4-R" proposal in post-conflict situations -- namely repatriation, reintegration, rehabilitation and reconstruction; new approaches to development through local integration; a new agenda for protection; and UNHCR 2004, or Convention Plus -- deserve to be implemented.

Protecting refugees and searching for durable solutions to their plight is a humanitarian imperative, but it is also fundamentally about contributing to international peace and security. Persecution and conflict produce refugees. At the same time, unresolved refugee problems can themselves be a cause of conflict and instability. It is vital, therefore, that the international community support UNHCR in its efforts to find durable solutions for refugees and other persons of concern.

Finally, I wish to reiterate our full support and cooperation to Mr. Ruud Lubbers and to wish him success in his renewed role as High Commissioner for Refugees.

The President

I give the floor to the representative of Spain, who will make a statement on behalf of the Group of Western European and Other States.

Mr. Arias (Spain)

I will be speaking on behalf of the Group of Western European and Other States, which I am chairing this month.

We would like to express our gratification at the two-year extension of the mandate of the High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. Ruud Lubbers.

Mr. Lubbers' term of office began on 1 January 2001, and, for almost three years now, he has deployed, with dedication and effectiveness, very commendable efforts at the head of that United Nations agency, whose work is of crucial importance. For this reason, we welcome the decision of the Secretary-General and we commend him for it. We would convey to Mr. Ruud Lubbers that he can rely on the full cooperation of our group.

The President

I give the floor to the representative of Costa Rica on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States.

Mr. Stagno Ugarte (Costa Rica)

I am honoured to take the floor on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States to lend our support to the extension Mr. Ruud Lubbers' term of office as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for a period of two more years.

This being the first time that I have taken the floor before this Assembly, I wish to convey to you and to the other members of the Bureau our congratulations on your election. We are certain that your known record and experience will make it possible for the work of the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly to conclude successfully.

Our region regards the purely humanitarian and apolitical nature of the work of the Office of the High Commissioner as of crucial importance, as it gives international protection to refugees and tries to find permanent solutions to their problems. We would recall that such a solution would involve, first and foremost, voluntary repatriation as the preferred solution. We know that there needs to be concerted international action to help refugees. In this regard, we would assert that international protection is a dynamic function, which is action-oriented, carried out in cooperation with States and other partners, so as to, among other things, promote and facilitate the admission, reception and treatment of refugees and finding lasting solutions for their protection.

This challenge has been tackled in recent years thanks to the guiding skills of Mr. Lubbers as he has carried out his work, and for this reason we support the extension of his term in office so that he may continue his work concerning international protection and material assistance to refugees, as well as the quest for permanent solutions to their problems. The Latin American and Caribbean Group will continue to follow attentively the activities of Mr. Lubbers in his second term of office, and we will continue to support him in his work.

The President

I give the floor to the representative of Rwanda on behalf of the Group of African States.

Mr. Kamanzi (Rwanda)

On behalf of the African Group, which we are honoured to chair for the month of October, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Ruud Lubbers on the extension of his mandate by the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the next two years to head the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. No one doubts that Mr. Ruud Lubbers will continue to exercise his skills and his personal commitment in the service of the international community to resolve the difficult problems of refugees who, on our continent, unfortunately, number in the thousands. We wish him every success and we assure him of the total support of Africa.

The President

The Assembly has thus concluded its consideration of sub-item (d) of agenda item 16.