ANNAN URGES WORLD COMMUNITY TO SAVE YOUNG REFUGEES FROM "LIFE WITHOUT HOPE"
New York, Jun 20 2003 10:00AM

With the future of millions of young refugees jeopardized by war, hatred
and exile, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appealed to
the international community to make "serious and sustained efforts" to
solve the problems that cause displacement in the first place.

"At an age when they should be dreaming of life's limitless possibilities
and building up their skills in preparation for adulthood, they are instead
bound by the harsh reality of poverty and displacement, and condemned to
what often seems to be a life without hope," Mr. Annan said in a message
marking World Refugee Day, dedicated this year to refugee youth.

Noting that boys as young as 15 are forced to fight in "somebody else's
conflict, often for reasons they cannot possibly comprehend," and girls are
victims of sexual abuse, he said: "They (boys) are among the more than
300,000 young people between the ages of 15 and 17 fighting in some of the
world's most violent wars. Even if they escape death or injury, they are
traumatized for life by the brutality of the experience.

"And while boys can end up as cannon fodder, young female refugees are
often the prime targets of abuse, especially in areas where the social
position of women and girls is weak," he added.

Stressing that young refugees "need our help" to enjoy the brighter future
offered to other children, Mr. Annan noted the ample work already being
done by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other UN
agencies, through educational and other youth-related programmes.

"But while humanitarian involvement can help to ease the hard lot of young
refugees, it can never be a substitute for serious and sustained efforts to
find solutions for the problems that cause displacement in the first
place," he said. "On World Refugee Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to
saving future generations from growing up without hope."

Adding his voice to the appeal, the President of the UN General Assembly,
Jan Kavan of the Czech Republic, urged all Member States to be sensitive to
the special needs of young refugees and called on donor countries to
support UNHCR and other refugee agencies in their attempts to keep pace
with the world's refugee crises.

He noted that "an impressive" 1 million refugee children are currently
enrolled in UNHCR-supported educational programmes but there are still,
many eligible children without access to this basic human right,
particularly at the level of secondary education.

UN News Service

----
CONNECTIONS

* Find out more about World Refugee Day 2003:
http://www.hrea.org/feature-events/african-child-day-03.html

* Learn more about the rights of refugees in HREA's study guide
on Refugees: http://www.hrea.org/learn/guides/refugees.html

* Subscribe to HREA's "refugee-rights" mailing list and receive regular
updates on issues relating to refugees and internally displaced persons:
http://www.hrea.org/lists/refugee-rights/markup/maillist.php