CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE - issue 02/2023

LE MONDE UNHCR | INTERVIEW
FACTS
100 million people around the world currently displaced
Founded in 1950, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has been providing
assistance to displaced individuals worldwide, including in Austria.
History: UNHCR stands for “United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees” and is the refugee
agency of the United Nations. It is one of the
world’s largest humanitarian organisations. It was
founded in December 1950 by the UN General
Assembly in New York and its operations
commenced in January 1951. Originally, its purpose
was to assist millions of people who had lost their
homes, had to flee or were forcibly displaced
during World War II. The headquarters of UNHCR
is in Geneva, and Filippo Grandi has served as the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
since 2016.
Mandate: With over 187,000 employees, UNHCR
protects and supports refugees, asylum seekers,
internally displaced persons, stateless individuals
and returnees. The work is based on the 1951
Geneva Refugee Convention, which remains the
most important international document for refugee
protection. UNHCR monitors the legal framework
in many countries and strives to ensure compliance
with international agreements concerning refugees.
In countries that have received a large refugee
population, the agency provides humanitarian
assistance and focuses on shelter, care, education
and finding durable solutions for refugees.
UNHCR staff
provide humanitarian
assistance in
many countries.
Figures and definitions: When UNHCR was
founded, it was initially intended to exist for three
years and then dissolve. However, over the
decades, wars and crises increased significantly,
resulting in a higher number of refugees. Currently,
for the first time, there are 100 million people
worldwide who are displaced. Just two years ago,
the number stood at 82.4 million. The war in
Ukraine alone added approximately 14 million more
individuals to the total. The majority of these
people are internally displaced within their own
countries and do not cross the borders of their
home countries. Only a small portion of those
fleeing come to Europe.
UNHCR Austria: Shortly after UNHCR
commenced operations in Geneva in 1951, an office
was established in Austria. Christoph Pinter has
been the head of the office since 2011. Vienna has a
unique feature, as it houses both the national office
and the UNHCR liaison office to the OSCE and
other UN organisations. In Austria, UNHCR
observes and monitors the implementation of laws
pertaining to refugees and asylum seekers. A
significant task is ensuring fair asylum procedures.
political discourse, emphasizing the need to
monitor external borders and limit the
number of people coming to Europe. Measures
are proposed in this regard. On the
other hand, in practice, we see a well-functioning
Austrian asylum system with a specialised
authority, a court system overseeing
it, and legal assistance provided to those
who receive negative decisions. We also see
that a significant number of people have
found protection in Austria over the years.
In the past year alone, around 20,000 individuals,
in addition to those from Ukraine,
obtained protected status through the asylum
process. So, there are two sides to the
issue.
Regarding the rhetoric, there is a concern
that if the message conveyed by politicians
to society is that all those who come here
only bring difficulties and burden the state,
it could undermine the traditionally strong
willingness to help and the readiness to accept
refugees in Austria. It would be beneficial
to also focus on discussing the talents
and potential that refugees bring or can develop
with Austrian support.
PHOTOS: XYXXYXYXY
PHOTOS: RALPH MANFREDA
One of Austria’s demands is to carry out asylum
procedures at the external borders of the EU.
What is UNHCR’s position on this?
The crucial question is what is meant by the
term “border procedures”. Does it refer to
procedures taking place outside the European
Union in neighbouring countries, directly
at the border, or in the border area
within the European Union? This question
should be addressed to those proposing these
procedures. As UNHCR, we can see the
value of conducting border procedures
within the EU if it ensures that individuals
who approach the border are not simply pushed
back illegally. Instead, they should be
allowed entry and undergo immediate
identity checks. The assessment should consider
whether they belong to particularly
vulnerable groups such as older persons,
unaccompanied minors, single women, or
individuals with medical conditions and inquire
about the essential grounds for asylum.
This approach would quickly determine
whether the asylum claim is credible and
warrants a positive assessment. If protection
is not granted, then a return to the country
of origin can be considered.
I assume that you don’t find the idea of
conducting asylum procedures in faraway
countries like Rwanda convincing.
No, we cannot endorse such ideas for various
reasons. We do not object to states coming
together to discuss how best to address
the refugee issue collectively. However, we
criticize the British proposals because they
appear to be shifting responsibility rather
than sharing it. Additionally, Rwanda is a
country that already hosts a significant
number of refugees and has a relatively
young and fragile asylum system. This raises
the question of who would conduct the
procedures there and what quality standards
would be in place.
The European Commission has long been trying to
formulate and implement a common asylum
policy, but it has had little success. Is it due to a
lack of solidarity or is the fundamental idea
flawed?
I believe it’s a bit of both. On the one hand,
we see that EU member states have very different
views on the issue. There are some
countries that believe we should simply focus
on preventing or minimizing the arrival
of refugees in Europe. On the other hand,
there are those who believe we have a responsibility
to ensure global refugee protection
and should contribute to it by establishing
good rules together, in a spirit of
solidarity. These blocks can be further divided
into different sub-blocks, and they
struggle to come together to make meaningful
decisions. As UNHCR, we believe
that the European Commission’s proposals
could serve as a viable basis for
discussion if all parties were willing to
approach them with some degree of convergence.
It is possible to find a solution
that aligns with human rights and international
refugee law. However, as UNHCR,
we are merely observers and convey our
recommendations and goals. Ultimately, it
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