Press Conference,
Antonio Guterres,
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

The speech and Q & A will be in English with simultaneous interpretation

The number of refugees worldwide has started to climb again after years of decline, with the figure now standing at almost 11.5 million people. In addition, approximately twice that number of people are displaced within their countries. The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees finds itself walking a tightrope between the formal mandate of protecting refugees with limited resources and the immense gravity of forced displacement in 110 countries around the world today. But the UNHCR has never failed to answer the call and has twice been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The organization is headed by former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, who succeeded Ruud Lubbers of the Netherlands in June 2005. Guterres served as Portuguese prime minister from 1996 to 2002, during which he was involved in efforts to resolve the crisis in East Timor. As president of the European Council in early 2000, he championed the adoption of the so-called Lisbon Agenda and co-chaired the first EU-Africa summit. He also founded the Portuguese Refugee Council in 1991.

During his upcoming visit to Japan, Guterres has agreed to speak at the FCCJ on the changing situations surrounding refugees and forced displacement, touching upon Afghanistan, Iraq, Darfur and the recent crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Antonio Guterres