UNHCR - Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme (EXCOM)
68th session
Delivered by Ambassador Aviva Raz Shechter,
Permanent Representative of Israel to the UN in Geneva
Madam Chairperson,
Let me start by commending the excellent work performed by UNHCR in leading the global response to the refugee crisis today. This meeting of the Executive Committee provides us with an opportunity to focus our attention on the millions of people who are currently on the move, seeking a better life or escaping danger. It is also an occasion to pay tribute to the dedicated women and men who are committed to helping refugees wherever they may be, often putting their own lives at risk.
I would like to thank High Commissioner Grandi for his opening remarks, which not only emphasized the tremendous challenges facing the international community in the area of refugee response, but also gave us room for hope, that through a concerted global effort some of these challenges can be addressed.
These challenges are indeed daunting, with tragic man-made crises often compounded by natural disasters. A great deal is already being done both bilaterally and globally, and it is important to keep looking for ways to increase the involvement of countries in this joint humanitarian effort. At the same time, it is crucial to streamline the way different countries are involved in this effort, so as to ensure efficient use of particular resources and areas of expertise. Such a targeted harnessing of capabilities will not only improve the refugee response itself, but also save desperately needed financial resources, which can then be reinvested in the global effort to help refugees.
Israel, a longstanding supporter of UNHCR and one of the fifteen original members of the EXCOM, stands ready to play a role in the global response to the mounting needs. We see it as our duty to extend immediate essential humanitarian assistance in case of disasters, including through the deployment of field hospitals and the dispatching of search and rescue crews, as was the case these past few weeks in Sierra Leon and Mexico. This type of aid in emergency and development, that Israel has been extending bilaterally for many years, can be incorporated into the broader scheme of the global response framework we are discussing these days.
We agree with the notion that an effective and sustainable humanitarian response to the refugee crisis needs to take into account the broader development context as well. Today, three quarters of the world’s poorest people make a living and get their food from small scale family farming, most of them operating under difficult climatic conditions. Such conditions are all too familiar to Israelis, who through the years have been compelled to devise innovative yet simple ways to cope with these conditions. In parallel, Israel has made a point of it to have other countries benefit from these advances. For decades, Israel has been at the forefront of sharing its knowledge and best practices of how to secure water resources through the implementation of practical, simple, yet scientifically-supported solutions. This same willingness can be harnessed also to aid refugee communities cater to their basic subsistence needs, and assist in building capacity in their countries of origin.
Madam Chairperson,
Clearly water is one of the most fundamental humanitarian needs in many refugee situations. Looking more closely on the issue of water solutions, drip-irrigation systems first invented in Israel have long become a mainstay of efficient agriculture around the world. The same goes for Israel's advanced desalination systems, today accounting for no less than 50 percent of overall domestic consumption. In fact, Israel is a living example of the viability of the desalination of sea water, against the backdrop of water scarcity and a growing population. But there are other new and exciting technologies being developed all the time, for water management, treatment, and even the production of drinking water from air.
Catering to the water needs of refugee and internally displaced communities is but one very important step on the way to self-reliance. It often goes hand in hand with other basic subsistence needs that have to be addressed, such as the development of small-scale and easy to operate agricultural units. Beyond that there are yet other important needs in the field of education and the empowerment of women. At the same time it is crucial to promote entrepreneurship capabilities, and to set up systems of micro-financing for small businesses. But it is important to stress, that addressing all these needs does not require us to re-invent the wheel, for the know-how is there, and the question is more about getting it to the places where it is most needed.
We would especially like to point out the importance we assign to the successful implementation of the Comprehensive Framework for Refugee Response, as a precursor to an agreed-upon Global Compact on Refugees next year. The practical application of the CRRF will depend, among other things, on the effective mobilization of countries' respective areas of expertise. Nowhere would this be incorporated more than in the Program of Action, where best practices and a proven track record in tackling humanitarian challenges must be reflected. This is, in our view, a complementary and even an integral part of the basic principles of shared responsibility and burden sharing. It can contribute to all of the four stated objectives of the CRRF, in particular those of improving conditions in origin countries, and enhancing refugee self-reliance.
Thank you Madam Chairperson.