STORY: World Refugee Day marked in Ethiopia with call for int'l support for refugees
DATELINE: June 22, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:58
LOCATION: Addis Ababa
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the conference
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): MARTIN MANTEAW, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Principal Situation Coordinator for Ethiopia
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MARTIN MANTEAW, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Principal Situation Coordinator for Ethiopia

STORYLINE:

World Refugee Day has been marked in Ethiopia with a call for the international community and the private sector to support refugees in the spirit of sharing responsibility and solidarity.

The day was marked Tuesday under the theme "Hope away from Home: A world where refugees are always included," in a bid to give refugees more hope and opportunities while they are away from home.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): MARTIN MANTEAW, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Principal Situation Coordinator for Ethiopia
"We are marking this day when forced displacement figures have reached a record of over 110 million and when 35 million refugees are in limbo. World Refugee Day is also a time to recognize the hospitality of host countries like Ethiopia, who have kept their borders and hearts open to people in need of international protection."

Appreciating the Ethiopian open-door policy for the refugees, Manteaw said the East African nation hosts nearly 1 million refugees, of whom South Sudanese and Somali refugees constitute almost 400,000 and over 200,000, respectively.

"We are grateful for the generosity of the Ethiopian people and government who continue to host refugees and open doors for all those refugees who are fleeing violence, war, conflict, prosecution and impacts of climate change," Manteaw told Xinhua.

He warned that the number of refugees crossing into Ethiopia would increase significantly unless living conditions, especially peace situations, are improved in countries of origin for refugees.

Manteaw further called for more support and funding from partners and the international community to create an increasingly favorable environment for more comprehensive and development-oriented solutions for refugees and host countries.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MARTIN MANTEAW, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Principal Situation Coordinator for Ethiopia
"Funding is a major challenge. Currently, our appeal has not been funded even to 20 percent of what is required for our annual programs. We need funding and also we need investment, particularly in the areas of refugee settlement."

Even though the majority of displaced people originate from South Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea, Ethiopia hosts refugees from Sudan, Yemen, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Addis Ababa.
(XHTV)