Clinton: Countries must put end to refugee crisis

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the United States is committed to helping the world’s 34 million refugees build safe and fulfilling lives, calling their struggle a “humanitarian emergency.”

In a statement released Saturday to commemorate World Refugee Day, Clinton called on the world community to end what she called “urgent refugee crises” in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chad, the Central African Republic and Darfur. She said she was encouraged by improving situations in Liberia, South Sudan, Burundi and Bhutan but said countries must pitch in to do more.

“The crowded camps where refugees live are designed to be temporary, but many of the world’s displaced people become permanent residents,” she said. “Children are born there, parents die there, people fall in love, marry – even divorce there. Outside the camps, the world seeks a solution to their plight, a way to send them home safely or help them find new homes in new lands.

“Inside the camps, the refugees wait and hope,” Clinton said.

She said the United States will continue to support the United Nations and other international aid groups to help refugees, citing more than $1.4 billion the United States provided last year to support their work.