The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative in Azerbaijan Mr. Furio De Angelis in his exclusive interview with Eurasia Diary shared interesting thoughts on World Peace Day. He talked on multiple issues including, current refugee’s crisis, resettlement of the refugees, conflicts and their peaceful resolution.

Eurasia Diary: What are your goals being the representative of UNHCR in Azerbaijan?

Furio De Angelis: Well I am the representative of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Mr. Filippo Grandi and the representative of the mandate of the United Nation General Assembly that has given to him.

This is a global mandate to work and cooperate with government and Civil Society addressing the issues of refugees and displace persons in order to provide the protection to these people and trying to find a solution to their displacement.

Eurasia Diary: You have served mostly in the world most war torn areas such as Afghanistan, Turkey, Sudan, and Kenya. Do you have any specific comparison or commonality in these areas?

Furio De Angelis: Well, it is very difficult to compare different refugee circumstances. However, I would say that there is a common trade. This common characteristic is the need of the refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to be assisted. Beside this, to be understood their problems and to mobilize attention, support, resources to address their needs. Otherwise, operational environmental context that is very different, also assistance and protection operations are different but there is something is common. Owing to the war, violence, persecution of human rights, there are human needs and human sufferings all over the world.

Eurasia Diary: Is it true that UNHCR badly failed to affect on European Union to accommodate refugees?

Furio De Angelis: There is a certainly serious crisis in Europe and with the respect of arrival refugees. What we say that the crisis can be overcome. It is crises that can be tackled with enough political will, with resources and especially, with political commitment in order to act together and to provide plan resources and capacity to really organize reception and arrival, distribution, the integration of refugees throughout the continent. This is possible crisis can be tackled and can be won. We certainly hope and expect that European countries will be able to rise up to this challenge. 

Eurasia Diary: Being the representative of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, how do you see global conflicts?

Furio De Angelis: The global conflict is mainly the origin of the causes of the human forcible displacement. There is also displacement due to the other causes such as natural disasters. But as the representative for the UNHCR, I have to remind that there are 65 million persons around the world who are forcibly displaced by war, conflict and persecution. This is numerous amounts of people; this is like a population of big nation country which is being displaced as a result of the war and conflict. So addressing war and conflict in the world would reduce and eliminate the need of forcible displacement.

Eurasia Diary: How do you see the global problem in the aftermath of refugee crisis?

Furio De Angelis: It is fact that the refugees are the result of the conflicts. As long as we do not tackle the conflict, we do not find the durable just solution, the refugee will not be able to find a solution to their problems. Addressing the conflict is the best option in order to return refugees their places and to eliminate the original reasons that make them refugee. So, this political will is absolutely important and there are enough international co-operations which can deal with it. Resolving the conflict, especially the global conflicts which are included different countries and interests can only be resolve with more international cooperation among the states.  

Eurasia Diary: How many people on the Earth are residing as refugees? What today’s statistics tell us?

Furio De Angelis: Among 65 million are forcibly displaced persons around the world. There are 20 million living as a refugee consists of 5 million Palestinian and 15 millions are the refugees from other countries around the world. Nowadays, the Syrian refugees are the largest population. According to the United Nations (UN), there are 13.5 million Syrians requiring humanitarian assistance, of which 6.6 million are internally displaced within Syria, and over 4.8 million are refugees outside of Syria. Unfortunately, we are witness of difficulties solving this crisis in Syria. It is clear that the only solution of this crisis is peace returning the refugees to the home.

Eurasia Diary: How the UNHCR set the criteria to come up on the definition of effectiveness for the resettlement?

Furio De Angelis: Resettlement is solution for refugees in certain particular situations. Unfortunately, resettlement can only cover a small part of refugees because there are not enough resettlement places which put a disposal by the resettlement countries for addressing all these needs. There are 20 million refugees as I said around the world, but only less than 100,000 refugees are being resettled to the areas around the world. So, resettlement remains particularly solution for certain category of refugees which are particularly vulnerable. That is why there are vulnerability criteria and on the basis of these vulnerability UNHCR and resettlement countries work together to provide the solution for this specific group of refugees.

Eurasia Diary:  Do you think that resettlement is the only solution of Humanitarian Crisis, rather than stopping the war and conflict?

Furio De Angelis: As I mentioned before, solving war and conflict is the most important things to do in order to resolve refugees and global displacement issues. Because this is the real reason and it is crucially important to solve the conflict in a just and durable manner. On this way, people have the confidence have the possibility and capacity returning to the country, rebuilding the country and their societies.

Eurasia Diary: How the conflict around the world could be resolved peacefully?

Furio De Angelis: This is very important issue. That is why on World Peace Day, Secretary General of UN said that peace is not only absence of war, peace is also the capacity to build society in a just and in a fair manner. We are all members of human society and it means we have all possibility to develop and grow of our society. On that basis, international community’s has adopted the sustainable development and goal. In 25th of September 2015, 17 Sustainable Development Goal have been launched by UN in order to reach and achieve in a just and sustainable society. These are called the building blocks for reaching peace. Actually, the theme of today’s World Peace Day is the building blocks for peace. This is the idea the sustainable development and goals will be the building blocks for tomorrow’s future based on peace and development.

Eurasia Diary: What is your message to our readers on the platform of Eurasia Media Network in World Peace Day?

Furio De Angelis: My message is exactly what I just come to say that please,  engage yourself, please, be engaged, be knowledgeable and trying to be active in order to implement the Sustainable Development Goals. These are the main objectives of the next 15 years of the United Nations and the cooperation of the UN with government. All governments have accepted these goals and we should all work together in order to make sure that these goals are achieved. These goals are very practical  and they deal with  eliminating the poverty, hunger, promoting the development, schooling of children, gender equality, empowerment of woman for  sustainable development society. Let’s be engaged in these development goals because they are the building blocks for peace.

Interview by: Fazilat Samadova