11:00 A.M. EDT
Real Audio of Briefing
MR. BAILY: This morning we have a briefing on World Refugee Day and we'll be 
talking about the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. With us we have first of all, Kelly Ryan who is the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Population and Refugees and Migration at the Department of State. We have Wendy Young who is from UNHCR. We have Martha Newton from the Department of Health and Human Services and finally, Ross Anderson from the Refugees Affairs Division of the Department of Homeland Security.
We’ll have two opening statements and then we'll go to your questions.
Kelly.
MS. RYAN: Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming. We wanted to talk to you today about the refugee program, which is a very essential program for the Administration. It has been operating in its current fashion since 1980. And since 1975, we have admitted more than 2.6 million refugees to the United States of America. My Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration at the State Department serves as the coordinator within the U.S. Government for refugee admissions. But we work hand in hand with our partners at the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services from the initial identification of the refugee through the time that they are adjudicated, their case is heard by DHS, until the time they are resettled, mainly through PRM and through HHS in their integration into the United States.
Another key partner for us is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The United States is the largest donor to UNHCR annually and we're a proud partner with UNHCR who helps us identify refugees for admission to the United States. The other part of our process that must be mentioned is our close coordination and partnership with the NGO partners that we have in the United States and overseas. Sometimes they help us identify refugees and they are a key part of our integration efforts here in the United States. I thought I would make a few comments about some caseloads that have come up that are going to be coming this year. One group that's kind of interesting is from the Meskhetian Turks. About 8,000 have arrived in the United States, and we anticipate about 4,000 more coming. This is a group of people that basically have had no home since the end of the second World War, so it's a very protracted refugee situation, and we're very glad to welcome them to the United States.
I should also tell you that our overseas processing entity in Nairobi is processing up to 13,000 arrivals from Africa -- East Africa for this year. And we have three new groups that are coming from Africa and are on the horizon for us. The first are survivors of what's called the Gatumba massacre in Burundi. This is about 700 persons. The second is the ethnic Kunama in Ethiopia. This is 3,000 persons. And then, the last is the 1972 Burundies who are living in Tanzania and you can guess when -- since when, 1972, and there are about 12 to 15,000 of those Burundians there.
We also have launched our resettlement initiative in Vietnam. We have received massive interest in that and there are thousands of applications that are coming into our consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. And we're pleased that the number of applicants from Iran have more than doubled in the past year from 2 to 4,000. These are ethnic -- religious ethnic minorities from Iran that will be coming to the United States when they're approved.
And I think it's important for us to talk a little bit, too, about a challenge that we've had and that is with this issue of material support. There was a change in our law, related to the passage of the Patriot Act and the REAL ID Act, and that has had -- that's created a challenge for our refugee program, though that did present us with an opportunity to exercise a waiver. And the Secretary of State exercised a waiver last month for Karen Burmese who are living in Tham Hin refugee camps. And our colleagues from DHS are out interviewing in Tham Hin now and we hope to admit many of the refugees in that camp because they have been long awaiting a durable solution. So I think with that, perhaps I'll stop here.
And just one other thing you might want to know is that the President authorized us to admit up to 70,000 refugees this year. Unfortunately, we're funded for only 54,000. And it's too early in the year yet for me to tell you what the effective material support will have, but it has had an effect, at least on some of the movements this year and it could decrease our numbers below the 54,000 mark. So let me turn to my colleague and friend Wendy Young from UNHCR.
MS. YOUNG: Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you to the Foreign Press Center for hosting us here this morning. I'm also very pleased to appear on this panel with our colleagues from the U.S. Government. The Department of State, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Health and Human Services are valued partners to us both in the resettlement program, but also as Kelly mentioned, in all of our work overseas.
I'd like to set a bit of a broader context in terms of the resettlement program and some of the challenges that UNHCR is facing around the world today and emphasize how important resettlement is to us, both as a tool of protection for thousands of refugees each year, but also as a strategic tool to resolve refugee crises in different parts of the world.
First, let me just mention that UNHCR is the UN refugee agency. We were originally created by the UN General Assembly as a temporary agency in the wake of World War II in order to find solutions for the millions of people who had been displaced by World War II. Since then, however, we have grown to become operational in 117 countries around the world with a staff of over 6,500. And since our founding, we have served more than 50 million of the world's displaced. Basically, wherever there are people affected by armed conflict or persecution, UNHCR has a presence.
The theme of this year's World Refugee Day is "Hope." World Refugee Day is actually an opportunity for the world community to pause and think about the plight of the millions of refugees around the world. But it is also important that we not just think about refugees as victims, but that we also value their human capacity. We find inspiration in the aspirations of refugee communities. Refugees are in many ways just like the rest of us, they hope for peace and prosperity, to be able to provide for their families, to send their children to school and to live their lives in dignity and safety. We need to support the strength of refugee communities and help them to rebuild their lives, their homes and their societies.
I understand that some of you visited Utica, New York, this week to visit the resettlement program there. And I think that's also a reflection of the hope that refugees actually bring to their host communities, too. I think Utica is thriving, in part, these days because of the many refugees that they've been able to resettle.
I'd like to share with you some statistics that just were released in the past few days by the UNHCR in terms of refugee numbers. The good news is that the number of refugees under the care of UNHCR dropped to a 26-year low this year, falling from 9.5 million in 2004 to 8.4 million in 2005. The not-so-good news, however, is that actually the number of people of concern to us increased this year, largely because the number of people internally displaced within their own countries has grown dramatically over recent years. These are so-called internally displaced persons, or IDPs, who basically have the same needs as refugees; they just haven't managed to cross an international border.
UNHCR last year, at the request of the international community has taken on the challenge of providing protection to IDP populations, despite the fact that this presents a challenge to our resources and the fact that there is no formal legal instrument to provide protection to IDPs the way there is with refugee populations. We've also seen significant progress in terms of refugee returns, which is the reason why the refugee numbers, overall, have dropped. In the past several years, we have supported some of the largest refugee return efforts in history. More than 6 million refugees have been able to return home since 2002, with 1.1 million returning last year alone. Major return operations have taken place in Afghanistan, where more than 4 million have gone home since 2001; Liberia, Burundi, Iraq and Angola.
One thing I'd like to mention here, though, is that UNHCR is very concerned that the world community not only invest in these return operations but also invest in development in the countries to which refugees are returning. It's very important that we engage in capacity-building, we invest in reintegration programs, we invest in the development of those countries so that those returns can be sustained and refugees can remain home in safety and in dignity.
We also should not forget that there are many protracted refugee situations around the world. In our estimate more than five million refugees around the world have been displaced for five years or more. This is one place where I think the resettlement program can be incredibly helpful in terms of helping to reach resolution of those refugee situations. Resettlement is not available, obviously, to all of the world's refugees but is a desirable tool for thousands a year who are able to move to a new country, begin their lives anew and start over again. And here the United States is by far our most valuable partner, resettling more refugees each year than all the other 18 or so refugee resettlement countries combined.
I'd like to close by emphasizing UNHCR cannot achieve protection or durable solutions for refugees in isolation. We count on our government partners such as the United States. We count on our NGO partners, who do wonderful work in the field with us, and we count on refugees themselves to work toward achieving our goal. Individual citizens also can play an important role by supporting us and we're asking people during this year's World Refugee Day to assist us in any way they can, whether it's at the local community level by reaching a welcoming hand out to a refugee who's been resettled in your community or reminding your elected officials how important the U.S. Government's role has been in refugee protection globally or to remember that refugee protection requires resources and can make a donation. Thank you.
MR. BAILY: We'll open it up to questions. Sir, in the front row. Wait for the mike and identify yourself.
QUESTION: Mike LaVallee with TBS, Tokyo Broadcasting System. I'd like to ask about North Korean refugees. As you know, recently the first six were admitted into the United States and after that there was talk of many, many more potentially coming. And I was wondering how you see this. What's the route for this? I mean, what's the future potential for North Korean refugees coming here and how would the system be able to accommodate North Korean refugees?
And also if you could touch on -- maybe Wendy could touch on this -- in China, there's tons of North Korean refugees. How does the UNHCR work with those refugees and what's the potential of getting them out of China?
MR. BAILY: Why don't you start.
MS. RYAN: Okay. First of all, with respect to North Korean refugees, I think that they are some of the most vulnerable refugees in the world today. They have left one of the most difficult places in the world to survive. The return of refugees to that country are very, very dangerous. There's -- we read a number of reports of refouled refugees where we -- we're trying hard to track those who've gone back.
We are very pleased to admit the first six refugees to the United States. We hope more can come. We're very prepared for others to arrive. We have two goals in mind with respect to all North Korean refugees. The first goal is the safety and dignity of treatment of each of those refugees, and so that is our -- that's the U.S. foreign policy goal with respect to all of the refugees. So we are providing assistance in some cases overseas to help North Korean refugees and so it is our hope that not only will they be able to continue to arrive safely and for those who wish to go to South Korea continue that route. For those who wish to make their home in the United States, we would like to be able to offer that without in any way endangering their lives or putting them at risk of being returned home.
So we're prepared to accept more refugees. We work worldwide on that with our colleagues in Asia, countries that are willing to work with us, and our goal is to help them to achieve freedom either in South Korea or in the United States.
QUESTION: Is there a plan in the making right now for more North Korean refugees to come to the United States?
MS. RYAN: We are always prepared for more refugees to come. There's no new plan. We've had a plan long in place to permit the arrival of refugees, and you've seen the first six arrive.
MODERATOR: Do you want to --
MS. YOUNG: Sure. Just to provide a little background, UNHCR does maintain a regional office in China that covers China, Mongolia, Hong Kong and Macau, and we work there quietly to assist North Koreans as well as other refugees that may be in China.
Our work there emphasizes a couple of things. One is for those refugees who make contact with UNHCR to ensure that they are not returned to North Korea. We are particularly concerned that North Koreans that are returned from China face persecution upon their return simply because they have left the country.
We also are working to open up a humanitarian space in China to meet the needs not only of refugees and asylum seekers but also other North Koreans that face abuse, such as trafficked persons, also to address the basic health needs, education, shelter, et cetera.
We also work regionally with North Koreans who may show up in other countries in the region. Typically, a durable solution is available to North Koreans in South Korea, where they are awarded citizenship if they arrive in South Korea. But we welcome the opportunity also to work with the United States Government to provide resettlement to those that may not have another option.
QUESTION: Thank you. Sonia Schott with Radio Valera Venezuela. I would like to know what kind of definition of refugees you are working with and what is the difference between a refugee of North Korea or Africa or any other place in the world. And what kind of impact does it have to the bilateral relation with the United States with other countries who are providing refugees? Thank you.
MS. RYAN: We have a definition of refugees. It's found in Section 101(a)(42) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and that definition is in many ways absolutely identical to the UN's definition but it permits us to grant admission to a person who has suffered past persecution or has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. So that's very close to what the UN definition is. We have some flexibility that the UN doesn't in some ways, but we use that definition in the adjudication of each case worldwide and it's a standard that's been discussed by the Supreme Court of the United States. So we really very well understand what the legal requirement is.
In terms of what the relationship with -- to a country from whom we're seeking to resettle someone, we look to see whether resettlement is the appropriate durable solution for a refugee. There's three solutions that are usually available to refugees. The first is voluntary return to their home, and many -- if not most -- refugees want to be able to go home. The second is local integration, and that occurs successfully in some places in the world, for example in Tanzania. And the third is resettlement.
We just discussed that there are, you know, over 8 million refugees worldwide and the United States is taking up to 70,000, so very few refugees get resettlement to the United States. But those that do, for us are those in very urgent need, those who have family relationships but who are also refugees, and those for whom there is no other durable solution. So those are sort of the ways that we look at it analytically. We try very hard not to take into account any adjudication, any foreign policy considerations, so DHS could speak better to that.
MR. ANDERSON: As Kelly did say, each case is done on a case -- individual interview with a family member by a DHS officer who is specially trained to conduct these interviews. And for example, last year, we -- our officers conducted refugee interviews in 50 countries representing 63 different nationalities around the world. So our officers understand the law and have special training on those nationalities and country condition information for the interviews they're conducting. And that determination is made if they qualify under the refugee definition, and if they are admissible under our laws of the United States.
MR. BAILY: Yes, in the back there.
QUESTION: Hi, Stephanie Ho with Voice of America. I just attended a press conference upstairs of a group called the International Detention Coalition and they were expressing concern over what they see as the lengthy detention that immigrants -- well, mostly asylum-seekers and refugees to this country have. And I just wondered if I could get a comment on that. And then they were also concerned about the lack of international checks to immigrants who are in detention here in this country. Thanks.
MS. RYAN: I wasn't at the conference, so I'm not sure I can comment on that, but I can say one specific point, which is that all refugees who are admitted to the United States are never subject to detention. They are, you know, brought here, welcomed, and placed in communities across the United States. Some people seeking asylum in the United States are detained and that's sort of a separate track.
MR. BAILY: Yes, ma'am.
QUESTION: Charlene Porter with the Washington File. The whole issue of what nations are resettling and serving as resettlement nations, is there some kind of diplomatic initiative underway to encourage other countries to be more generous in opening their doors in this respect?
MS. YOUNG: Absolutely. UNHCR welcomes countries to join us in our resettlement effort and particularly, actually, in Latin America, we've seen a number of countries come forward to open the doors to resettlement. Also, certain countries in Europe have started to engage in resettlement. Australia, Canada are both valuable partners. We really do view resettlement also as a mechanism to signal the world's communities' interest in collaborating with us to offer refugee protection. As I mentioned before, the U.S. is, by far, the largest resettlement country, but we are seeing those numbers creep up in other countries and appreciate that.
MS. RYAN: We strongly support the UNHCR's expansion of the resettlement countries and we work bilaterally on that as well and offer technical training to other countries that are beginning to wish to work in a resettlement area. We think it's a great, great initiative.
MR. BAILY: Yes, sir.
QUESTION: Thank you. Endale Getahun from ECTV, Ethiopian TV. I just have a question regarding- maybe if you can give me insight on the Horn of Africa. As you know, at the moment on Somalia, there is an unfolding story and can you give me a little bit on Somalia's current situation, if there's refugees going to neighboring countries? And also, Kenya, is it still operating or is -- I just wanted to know and also, for Ethiopia as well?
MS. RYAN: With respect to Somalia, we haven't seen any refugee flows as the new developments are happening with respect to the change in power there, so that's actually a good sign, I think. Kenya is one of our largest resettlement hubs in the Horn -- it is our hub in the Horn of Africa and we're going to be admitting up to 13,000 refugees from throughout the Horn who are arriving from Kenya. It is a very important place. We are doing resettlement out of the camps there and trying to go after protected refugee situations and others in urgent need. In Ethiopia too, we have had a lot of resettlement out of Addis, not in terms of that large number, but we continue to maintain a presence there as well. It's very important for us.
MR. BAILY: Yes, ma'am.
QUESTION: I'm from Radio Free Asia and one question is to Mrs. Kelly and the other question is Ms. Newton. And the first question is, wasn't the United States reported to accept three North Korean defectors who broke into the U.S. consulate in Shanghai, China? And the report said that the U.S. decided to accept three defectors while refusing one North Korean defector to accept, but -- so I'd like to know whether the United States has accepted these defectors as refugees or not.
And the question for Ms. Newton is, I'd like to know the status of these newly arrived six North Korea refugees who are reported to live in New Jersey.
MS. RYAN: We're not in a position yet to be able to comment on any new refugee admissions to the United States from China, from the case that you mentioned. We're not quite in a position to be able to let you know about those cases. I can tell you that there is a lot of interest in that and as soon as we can, we'll be glad to give you an interview on that.
MS. NEWTON: And the second, can you state again the --
MS. RYAN: She's interested in the six who are in New Jersey.
MS. NEWTON: Sure. In terms of the six who are in New Jersey, they are getting appropriate services. Let me just mention kind of briefly, when a refugee arrives, there's a wide array of services that are provided -- immediate cash and medical assistance, we have a very healthy voluntary agency-NGO partnership. Some of you saw that in Utica, New York with the Lutheran organization. But they're provided direct services to help transition into the welcoming communities. And we also provide services to the welcoming communities as well, to help them understand what the needs are for specific refugees, what -- you know, people are coming from different parts of the world, what they can expect and how they can better work together to transition these individuals to have a welcoming environment upon their arrival.
MR BAILY: Yes, ma'am.
QUESTION: My name is Kanako Murata from TV Asahi. Your -- in the part of the report where it considers North Korea, the definition was very vague. It said recent settlement of North Koreans in the United States is available in cases where the solution is deemed appropriate. I was wondering if this appropriate case applied to the restrictions you had just mentioned now about family restriction, family relations, and urgent needs.
MS. RYAN: Yes. Let me just be clear on that. That is deliberately -- you know, open. I wouldn't say vague. It's designed to make sure that we can permit refugees from North Korea to come when it is appropriate in their particular case. But just to be clear, there is no requirement that they have a family member in the United States for them to be admitted to the United States. It's a question really of where they are, what their situation is, which determines whether South Korea or the United States is the appropriate resettlement country.
QUESTION: Hi, my name is Nami Kodaka. I'm with NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation. You mentioned earlier about the U.S. Government is always prepared to accept North Korean refugees. Then do you see any numbers? How many numbers you're expected to accept to U.S.?
And also, another question. This may be off the point, but the North Korean Government is trying to launch a missile, you know, over this weekend. It is going to happen anytime soon. But is this provocative situation going to affect on the refugee acceptance?
MS. RYAN: Wow. On the first point -- you're probably going to be annoyed with this, but I am one of the people within the U.S. Government who really doesn't want to give a number on North Koreans. And it's not because of a lack of desire to have North Koreans come. It's just because if we say a number, then everyone thinks that is the number, so I'd rather have the flexibility not to say it.
We have authority to admit hundreds if not thousands in our law. It's not a question of that. It's a question of access to North Koreans that drives how many get to come, not, you know, well, we want 10 or we want 100 or we want 1,000. So we really, again, are trying to create avenues by which they can safely arrive in the United States rather than have it be dictated by an artificial number. So I'm sorry, I'm going to decline to give you a number for that reason.
North Korea's activities with respect to its nuclear issues, I leave that to my colleagues in the East Asia Bureau to have to address. I don't think it's probably appropriate for me to do so. But what I would say is that we continue to work on North Korean refugee cases.
MR. BAILY: Yes, sir.
QUESTION: I'm Mahmood Hamdani from the Daily Mail, Pakistan. I have two questions. One is there were two big disasters, you know, in the past, one was tsunami and one was earthquake in Pakistan, and there were news that United States will be accepting some refugees here, the homeless people.
My second question is that millions of Afghans took refuge in Pakistan during the Soviet invasion. What's the number of refugees, Afghan refugees, as a result of that invasion?
And my second question. There has been a lot of sectarian violence in Pakistan. Are there any refugees who have come to United States as a result of that sectarian violence, and the number?
Thank you.
MS. RYAN: With respect to Afghan refugees still in Pakistan, the number I have is 2.6 million that have remained. Obviously, millions have been able to go home to Afghanistan, but 2.6 remain in Pakistan.
I'm not aware of any promise to resettle people as a result of the earthquake. We were a very large provider of earthquake assistance after the terrible tragedy of the earthquake. If we were to resettle out of Afghanistan -- sorry, I mean out of Pakistan, it would likely be the Afghans who can't go home, who are unable to go home for an appropriate reason. But we weren't seeking because of the earthquake to resettle a new or different population or even Pakistani nationals.
I think I should stop there, probably. He had another question, though.
MR. BAILY: On are there any people from Pakistan resettled due to sectarian reasons.
MS. RYAN: Yes, there are Pakistanis who make claims to the United States asylum program, but we're -- I'm not really clear on the numbers.
MR. ANDERSON: Any Pakistani claim would be adjudicated on a case-by-case basis based on their past, what happened to them in the past, if they suffered persecution, or what their fear of future persecution is based on one of the five protected grounds that Kelly mentioned earlier. And that would be true for any nationality.
MR. BAILY: Any further questions?
QUESTION: A question for DHS. As you know, the whole issue of material support has been a huge problem for the refugee program and it's kind of a Catch 22 because a lot of these refugees are refugees because they have gone against their governments because of their oppressive nature or whatever, and so they get caught up in this whole issue of the REAL ID and the Patriot Act. The checks on the refugees are so exhaustive and everything before they even get to the stage of coming to the United States. Is there a real concern that these refugees are terrorists or is it just that the law needs to be changed so that we can start facilitating this program again?
MR. ANDERSON: I'll speak to this. Maybe Kelly has something to add after this.
I think if you read the law, it's pretty broad and encompasses quite a wide definition of terrorist and what material support actually is. And I think we're working together with our refugee program partners to find a solution to the exact problem that you're asking about, material support. I think if you look at Tham Hin of the Karen in Thailand we are now processing, we have been able to address that particular situation and hopefully other groups in the future we'll be able to address similarly.
MS. RYAN: Just to add one point. The waiver will work for some of the people that we'd like to see admitted to the United States. Something other than a waiver would be needed to get some of the other refugees admitted to the United States. So we're exploring those options now in the interagency.
MODERATOR: Any other questions? Thank you very much for coming.
