U.N. urges help for 6 million in long-term limbo

GENEVA — The U.N. refugee chief urged countries Wednesday to help some 6 million people around the world living in long-term limbo, unable to return to the country from which they fled or integrate properly into the society in which they live.

Antonio Guterres said the rich world should do more for developing countries struggling to cope with 30 protracted refugee situations — from hundreds of thousands of Afghans still stranded in Pakistan and Iran, to Burmese refugees who have now been living 16 years in Bangladesh.

"The international community has not done enough to share that burden," Guterres, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, told U.N. members in Geneva.

Long-term refugees — those with that status for at least five years — face particular hardship when their position at the lowest end of society becomes cemented, he said. Strained relations with the hosts, disputes over scarce resources such as water and work, and crime resulting from poverty can result.

"It is neither realistic nor fair to leave the resolution of a refugee situation to the host state alone," Guterres said.

He said some refugees can be carefully returned home, when security and adequate permits. Others should be granted citizenship in their host countries or offered new homes elsewhere, he added.

Guterres, speaking at a two-day meeting on refugees, praised Tanzania for taking in hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing civil war in neighboring Burundi in 1972. The African country naturalized most of the refugees from the period, but has since found itself dealing with further waves of refugees from Burundi and Rwanda.

Mizengo Peter Pinda, Tanzania's prime minister, told the meeting his country fears it will have to deal with even more refugees from eastern Congo soon unless the international community finds a way of stopping the fighting there.

UNHCR said separately that it has received about a quarter of the $1.86 billion budget it is seeking for its refugee work next year. The United States alone contributed $125 million of the $463 million pledged so far.

"This is an encouraging outcome at a time when donors are faced by the uncertainties provoked by the current economic turbulence," Guterres said.

He asked donors to come up with further funds in the new year.