UNHCR: facing the refugee challenge.

• Author: d'Adesky, Anne-Christine
• Position: United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees

By now, the images have become familiar to all of us: the race across a barbed-wire border on a moonless night; a boat, overcrowded with desperate people, preyed upon by modern-day pirates; cars, piled high with furniture, stuck at an entry point; an overnight city of white tents set against the mountains. There is no corner of the earth where the classic drama of the refugee has not unfolded.

If anything, we are seeing today an unprecedented number of the world's citizens who have been made refugees as a result of civil conflicts, environmental disasters and, increasingly, hunger and poverty. Recently, the end of the cold war has brought Eastern Europeans streaming West, while the Gulf war has displaced hundreds of thousands and left others homeless, their cities destroyed.

For all of these cases, the costs are rising too. Money is needed to feed, clothe and heal those who are often hungry, cold, malnourished and sick-the victims of intense trauma. There is also the growing cost, measured in negative terms, of loss to the country of origin of productive citizens who leave.

Many nations have become hostile to accepting more refugees, as they are already overburdened and unable to adequately care for their own citizens. Racism and xenophobia are on the rise. There is no welcome mat for poor, unskilled refugees. Western Europe hopes to establish a unified border policy by 1992, to cope with-some would say keep out-the influx of refugees from less-developed nations. in many places, the status of refugees remains questionable, with forced repatriation seemingly replacing voluntary repatriation as the dominant policy.

Following the war in the Persian Gulf area, a new population of "orbit cases"-in this case, twice displaced Palestinian refugees-has been created, posing unique economic and political problems for resettlement officials.

As the scope of the world's refugee problem grows daily, so does the need for increased cooperation among nations to stem, and hopefully reverse, the current global tide of exodus and exile.

This is the key challenge facing the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as it celebrates its fortieth anniversary in 1991. A new High Commissioner, Mrs. Sadako Ogata of Japan, assumed that post in February.

"The problem of refugees has grown not only in size but in complexity, to the point where it truly is a global problem-all nations are affected", said Albert Peters, head of UNHCR's New York Office, in a recent interview.

"More and more, we are moving towards a situation where we have to reckon with the causes that make people become refugees in order to find the ways they can be solved." He added: "Refugee issues are part and parcel of the political world, which is why they must become part of an international political agenda. It is our task to help develop and implement such an agenda."

The tide of history

Since its creation on 1 January 1951, UNHCR has grown from a small agency helping the refugees of two world wars to become the leading international body, working on behalf of the world's refugees. Today, there are an estimated 17 million refugees, and another 15 million to 25 million displaced persons, most of them women and children (see page 51). UNHCR's achievements have gained worldwide recognition, as well as two wi Nobel peace prizes-in 1954 and 1981. But more importantly, it has literally saved millions of lives by bringing together donors and their resources to those in need on a scale unimagined by its post-war architects.

Today, UNHCR offices and missions have grown to match the increase in world refugees. There is currently a staff of about 2,000, as compared to 99 in 1951. They work at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva and in 100 field offices around the world. The annual budget has increased to nearly $600 million, financed primarily by voluntary contributions from Governments, with private organizations and individuals also contributing. Still, that falls short of what is needed to meet today's needs.

The severe budget crisis of UNHCR has recently been the focus of discussion among the 44 member States of EXCOM, the agency's Executive Committee. In 1989, despite funding pleas to Governments and voluntary agencies, UNHCR had a $35 million shortfall in its general programmes budget of $386.15 million. After a short-lived budget surplus in 1990, UNHCR money needs have skyrocketed this year, in light of the Gulf war and the continuing crisis in the Horn of Africa.

At present, the agency has enough...