The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as part of its 6oth anniversary celebration, will bring a Refugee delegation (Refugee Congress they call it) to visit the US Congress next week to make sure they get the message that refugee resettlement is a good thing (because they are getting lots of messages that we can’t afford the welfare and job demand for refugees and besides terrorists are getting in through the program). To counter the growing negative perceptions of the program they will have some grateful refugees to parade around the Hill.
From the Asylumnist:
As part of UNHCR’s 60 year anniversary, the agency is hosting a Refugee Congress in Washington, DC on August 3 and 4, 2011. The Congress will focus on refugees in the United States, and will provide an opportunity for the refugees themselves to share their experiences and help ensure that people still in need are not forgotten. In the end, the Refugee Congress plans to create recommendations for the U.S. Congress and to generate a report for a Ministerial Meeting in Geneva later this year.
Coincidentally they will be in Washington for the big refugee pow-wow that is held each year where all the contractors and the government agencies schmooz and plan (behind closed doors!). You see the word “stakeholder”—-that doesn’t mean you! As the taxpayer, you might think you are a stakeholder but you aren’t in their eyes. The meeting is closed to the general public!
The Refugee Congress will be held in conjunction with the National Consultation, the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s annual stakeholder meeting. According to ORR, “The annual Consultation provides a unique opportunity for stakeholders throughout the network to share ideas, engage in discussion, and expand the partnerships that form the backbone of the [refugee resettlement] program.”
Visit the Asylumnist from time to time and learn some interesting information from asylum lawyer Jason Dzubow.