UN official urges support for refugee host countries

The contributions of Tunisia, Egypt, and Liberia to refugees fleeing the fighting in Libya and Ivory Coast should not be overlooked and must be supported, Antonio Guterres, the United Nations's high commissioner for refugees, said at a May 3 Newsmaker.

Guterres, a former Portuguese prime minister, has been the top UN official for refugees since 2005. Last year, he was reelected by the General Assembly to a second five-year term.

About 650,000 people have fled Libya as a result of the fighting there, Guterres said. The help offered to these refuges by Tunisians and Egyptians has been amazing, he declared.

In Tunisia, poor families with very little themselves have offered these refugees food and other assistance, he noted.

Inside Libya, Guterres said there have been instances of Libyan rebels shooting black African migrant workers, claiming that they are mercenaries.

Most of the refugees from the Ivory Coast have gone to Liberia, though some have traveled through Ghana to Togo because Togo is a French-speaking country, Guterres told the audience.

Recounting the experiences of his native country in the 1970's, Guterres said that the developing democracies in Tunisia and Egypt must be supported in this time of turmoil.

Unfortunately, very little support has been forthcoming from the West so far, he noted.

Western countries should promote economic and political solidarity with Tunisia and Egypt to ensure that the revolutions in those countries continue on the right course, he said.

The United States, in particular, should help with resettlement as well as promote a more lenient migration policy for refugees, Guterres said.