U.S. Department of State 
96/11/08 Statement: $90 Million for UNHCR's General Program 
Office of the Spokesman 
 
 
 
Press Statement by Nicholas Burns/Spokesman 
November 8, 1996 
 
 
 
                   $90 Million for UNHCR's General Program 
 
The United States announced at the UN General Assembly in New York today  
a pledge of $90 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for  
Refugees' (UNHCR) 1997 General Program. 
 
U.S. refugee policy is based on the premise that the protection and care  
of refugees and conflict victims, and the pursuit of permanent solutions  
for refugee crises are shared international responsibilities.  UNHCR has  
worldwide responsibility for assisting host governments to protect and  
care for refugees, as well as for promoting lasting solutions to refugee  
crises, in particular voluntary repatriation. 
 
The General Program represents the core of regular UNHCR activities for  
the protection and assistance needs of the vast majority of the world's  
27 million refugees and other conflict victims.  Many of the most  
important policy initiatives pursued by the United States with UNHCR are  
funded under the General Program.  These include emergency preparedness,  
funding to jump-start voluntary repatriations, and improvements to  
UNHCR's programming and planning to ensure that the special needs of  
refugee women and refugee children are adequately addressed. 
 
The USG's contribution to UNHCR's General Program is a strong symbol of  
our support for the organization, the initiative it takes on issues of  
broader interest to the international community, including UN reform,  
and our admiration for the leadership demonstrated by the High  
Commissioner herself. 
 
This contribution is intended to be allocated to support UNHCR's  
activities under its 1997 General Program as follows: 
 
Africa              $29,100,000 
Europe              $11,100,000 
Near East           $ 7,800,000 
East Asia           $ 4,600,000 
South Asia          $ 4,400,000 
West Hem            $ 4,400,000 
Unearmarked         $28,600,000 
 
During the new year we will announce additional contributions targeted  
at specific refugee emergencies.