Sadako Ogata's UNHCR

1979165438+1October, Sadako ogata was appointed by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the head of the relief inspection mission for Cambodian refugees. When she visited the Thai-Cambodian border to inspect refugee relief, she had an intuitive understanding of the refugee problem for the first time. "This is a huge refugee crisis," Sadako Ogata said.

One day in the early 1990s, Sadako Ogata turned on the radio and heard the news of the resignation of the then United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She was very surprised because the Commissioner had only been in this position for eight months. Sadako Ogata did not expect that she would soon become the next United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

1990 65438+February 2 1 At that time, UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar decided to take Sadako Ogata as the most difficult and important position in the international humanitarian arena. Sadako Ogata accepted. She recalled: "This may also be the most difficult decision in my life. I changed my lifestyle, changed my career and left my family. " Her family once asked her how many years she planned to work, and she replied, probably a few years.

UNHCR was established in 195 1. At first, it was a small international organization with only 23 employees and an annual budget of less than $5 million. Its main duty was to help the refugees who fled from the socialist countries in eastern Europe at that time. Ogata took office as High Commissioner under the special circumstances of the end of the Cold War. She thought that the refugee problem would be solved soon after the end of the cold war, but she never imagined that 1000 was three phases, for ten years in a row. This is completely unprecedented among the seven high commissioners before her.

In ten years, she has changed from a scholar to a short person who is only 1.5 meters high, wearing a bullet-proof vest weighing 15 kilograms, and has a complete "presence". She spent half a year on the scene of refugees, such as this week in Geneva, next week in Iran and next week in Rwanda, running around nonstop. According to statistics, she walked around the earth four and a half times in the first three years. It can be said that she has traveled all the refugee areas, from Europe to Asia, to Africa, and then to Central America. Where there are refugees, there are her footprints. Everywhere she went, she visited refugee camps and training centers and negotiated with government authorities, opposition parties and some military forces one after another. During his ten years as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Ogata broke through many old rules of assisting refugees in the past and carried out a series of pioneering work according to the actual situation. If safe areas and refugee camps are set up in our country instead of abroad, they should be protected first and then rescued, so as to reduce the physical and energy consumption of refugees. This is what Iraq and Somalia did. At that time, despite strong opposition from many people in UNHCR, Ogata resolutely decided to take the above-mentioned relief measures according to the actual situation. She believes that although the practice has changed, the basic principle is the same. Instead of waiting for death, we should be proactive and strive for time, that is, we should do everything possible to protect refugees and ensure their lives. 199 1 year 1 month 1 year Sadako Ogata, 63, took office. Just a few days after taking office, UNHCR faced the problems left over from the Gulf War. More than 400,000 Kurdish refugees are trapped in northern Iraq and cannot cross the border into Turkey. Technically speaking, they are not refugees and do not fall under the jurisdiction of UNHCR, but the international community needs UNHCR to provide them with humanitarian relief. Sadako Ogata said that this is a watershed. In order to ensure the safety of refugees, Sadako Ogata came to the then US President George W. Bush and said only one sentence to him: "Please don't withdraw your soldiers." Such a request is very rare, but in the chaotic situation in Iraq, Sadako Ogata has no choice. Her belief is that "the bottom line is always the welfare and safety of refugees".

In Cambodia, she worked hard to create a new refugee handling model, that is, sending a UN peacekeeping force to rule for a period of time. In this process,

China will vigorously carry out all aspects of work and gradually repatriate and resettle refugees. Using this method, 400,000 Cambodian refugees were repatriated.

In addition, it is unprecedented to take advantage of the gap in the fighting that has not stopped to airlift relief supplies to the citizens of Sarajevo. Because Sarajevo was besieged and completely isolated at that time, citizens were trapped at home, unable to go out to buy food, and there was no food to buy. They once became "domestic refugees" and could not survive unless they relied on international protection and assistance. Of course, in this process, Ogata made a decision to temporarily stop air cargo in a rage, which became a major event that shocked the United Nations for some time. But looking back, it is not unreasonable for Ogata to make this decision at that time. As the Muslims on the receiving side closed the passage from the airport to the city in order to show the world that they were helpless and condemn and oppress the Serbs, the aid could not be carried out. Obviously, this action has a strong political color, and according to the regulations, humanitarian aid is never allowed to be used for politics, which led to this incident. A few days later, when the Muslim side announced that it would stop the boycott, Ogata immediately instructed the resumption of air transport. It can be seen from this incident that Ogata is a combative woman, and it is completely reasonable to be called "High Commissioner for Action".

In the past ten years, she has carried out major reforms in UNHCR, streamlining staff and saving money. 199 1 During the Gulf War, based on the actual needs of refugee relief and some people criticized that the United Nations response measures to refugees were too slow, she immediately decided to set up an emergency response section in UNHCR and raised $25 million as emergency assistance funds. At that time, there were usually five aid experts on duty at the Geneva headquarters. In case of emergency, a few employees with language skills and professional knowledge can be selected at any time according to the situation, and a rescue team can be formed immediately, carrying indispensable items such as communication equipment, tents, first aid boxes and so on, and rushing to the scene as soon as possible. It has also set up disaster relief materials storage warehouses around the world, forming an air transportation system and a 24-hour emergency response mechanism. In the past ten years, she has also given great support to China's efforts to properly receive and resettle nearly 300,000 Indo-Chinese refugees (mainly Vietnamese refugees) in China, and also given a lot of economic help. When she was invited to visit China in late July, 1992 also made a special trip to Guangxi and Guangdong to visit China refugee resettlement sites, and spoke highly of China's refugee resettlement work, calling it a model of resettlement work in the world. What is particularly commendable is that around 1993, when she learned that almost all the citrus trees planted on the farms of Jiangxi refugees in China were frozen to death by natural disasters, she immediately used the personal high-level fund of 300,000 US dollars for emergency assistance to restore their production and construction, which fully reflected her extreme concern and support for China refugees. 1997 Before Hong Kong returned to China in July 1, she also made great efforts, either urging the British and Vietnamese governments to speed up repatriation or helping boat people and refugees to settle in a third country, thus solving the problem of Vietnamese boat people and refugees stranded in Hong Kong.

She paid two official visits to China, one in late July of 1992 and the other in early June of 1997. She has repeatedly expressed her affection for China.

Attach great importance to relations with China. As she said in the book Sino-US-China Relations in Postwar Japan, "China is a very important neighbor to Japan, and its relationship with China has always been the central topic of Japan's foreign relations, both before and after the war. Politically, economically and culturally, Japan and China are not simply state-to-state relations, but ties formed by people themselves who transcend state relations. " During Sadako Ogata's tenure, the principle of United Nations refugee relief was constantly challenged. Faced with such a dilemma, Sadako Ogata sometimes said to her colleagues, "We are not Hamlet, and we cannot indulge in difficulties. You must make a judgment and then make a quick decision based on whether you can better protect people. " After leaving the post of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for many years, Sadako Ogata is still thinking today. "Humanitarian relief can play a great role, but it can't play all the roles," she said.

However, during 10, thousands of refugees were rescued, and Sadako Ogata's efforts were unanimously affirmed. No matter UN officials, donor countries or recipient countries, when referring to this oriental woman, they are full of respect. Wu Jianmin, dean of the School of Foreign Affairs, who once worked with Sadako Ogata in the United Nations, commented: "In 10 years, Sadako Ogata completed the most impossible work."

In short, Ogata has done a lot of practical and good things in the past ten years and solved many refugee problems. As she once concluded, in Asia, the problem of Indian zhina refugees has been solved. In Africa, led by Mozambique, 654.38+700,000 refugees have returned to their hometowns to settle down. In Central America, the refugee problem ended with the return of Guatemalan refugees and their settlement in Mexico. Refugees in Bosnia and Rwanda are moving towards a solution.

It is precisely because of her many achievements and lofty spiritual qualities that she has won praises from all countries in the world and won many international awards, such as the Boigny Peace Prize of UNESCO (the prize of 6,543,800 yen was used to establish an education fund for African refugee children), the Philadelphia Medal of Freedom of the United States, and the Asian Nobel Prize. 200 1, she became a "cultural contributor" in Japan, and Sweden also awarded her the "Polaris Medal" and so on. It can be seen that due to her special position and her own practical efforts. Individuals have not only won high honors internationally, but also contributed to improving Japan's influence in the international community.

In 200 1 year, when Japanese Prime Minister Mori Yoshiro visited Africa, the local slogan was to welcome Ogata. In 2002, Junichiro Koizumi even wanted her to be a foreign minister. On May 8, 2004, Sadako Ogata, then head of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, received a gift from a female representative during her visit to Senegal.