Dear List Members,

I wanted to provide an update to the previous message posted on the search
for a new High Commissioner for Refugees.  Below please find a compilation
of contributions from other list members:

Other leaders thought to be possible candidates for HC:

- Paddy Ashdown (see bio at
http://www.libdems.org.uk/index.cfm?page=whois&section=people&wid=2)
- Julia Taft (see bio at
http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/biography/Taft.html)

Other articles:

- "Help Wanted for Tough Job at UN: Refugee Commissioner," by Barbara
Crossette, New York Times, August 11, 2000
- "Choosing the Next HCR," Talk Back (ICVA) -
http://www.icva.ch/cgi-bin/browse.pl?doc=doc00000127#editorial
- The author of the a/m editorial, Ed Schenkenberg van Mierop, has
contributed an article to the next issue (no. 8) of "Forced Migration
Review," which should be available in print shortly.

More info. on previously identified candidates:

- Barbara Harrell-Bond submitted this profile of HRH El Hassan; she can be
contacted at [log in to unmask]

El Hassan Bin Talal

The human dimension of conflicts occupies a prominent place in El Hassan's
concerns.  On the international stage, many of his ideas and initiatives
have acted as a catalyst with regard to humanitarian affairs and
multilateralism.  The advent of the 1980s witnessed concentrated efforts by
him to draw attention to humanitarian issues that is normally given only to
economic, political and state security issues.  The Independent Commission
on International Humanitarian Issues (ICIHI) can be considered a pioneer in
this respect.  It was established in the early 1980s following El Hassan's
proposal to promote a New International Humanitarian Order.  This led to El
Hassan being asked by the Secretary General of the United Nations to found
and co-chair the ICIHI.  The final report of the Commission was adopted
without a vote as a resolution at the 42nd. UN General Assembly.

Since he became a member of the UNHCR Informal Advisory Group, the CASWAME
regional conference was held in Amman in 1997.  In that conference El Hassan
reiterated the need and urgency to have a Zakat fund for refugees.  He
continued his keen interest in following up with the UNHCR Informal Advisory
Group and the last meeting he attended was in Pretoria where concentration
on the issue of refugees in Africa was addressed.

In 1987 and 1994 at the UN General Assembly, El Hassan addressed the
importance of making peace with emphasis on human suffering, civilian
victims and vulnerable groups at times of conflict.

Danger zones do not hinder El Hassan from taking the initiative to visit
disaster areas.  Such was his trip to Sudan which was suffering from famine
and drought in 1986.  Such was also his trip to Bosnia in 1996 where the
Israeli Minister Yossi Sarid joined him.

In particular, El Hassan was on the forefront overseeing and directing the
operations of the influx of evacuees during the Second Gulf War of 1991.
Over one million workers (equivalent to about one-quarter of Jordan's
population) fleeing the Gulf area to Jordan had to have immediate food and
shelter.  Coordination of the relevant Jordanian government bureaus with
local and international NGOs and UN relevant agencies needed constant
supervision and attention.  There was a consensus of opinion that Jordan
dealt with this crisis in an exemplary manner.

El Hassan has repeatedly invoked international, regional and local fora in
order to focus attention on issues of global concern.  These included
migratory movements and their impact on the countries of origin -
particularly the poorer countries.  As early as 1979, in his speech to the
ILO 63rd. meeting, he proposed the establishment of an International Labour
Compensatory Facility along the lines of the Trust Fund for compensatory
facilities of the IMF.

Since 1990 El Hassan has funded research work at the Refugee Studies
Programme (RSP) at the University of Oxford and in 1993 became Chair of
RSP's international patrons.  He has also established a Centre on Refugees
in the Yarmouk University, Jordan.

In the field of religion, El Hassan's contacts and meetings have evolved
into a systematic interfaith dialogue promoting understanding and respect of
the other.  In November, 1999 at the 7th. World Assembly of the World
Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP), held in Amman, El Hassan accepted
the position of Moderator of the WCRP.  Encouraged by the Amman meeting, on
the 13th. April, 2000 The Interreligious Council of Kosovo was established
as a result of the joint signing by the three religious leaders of a
Statement of Shared Moral Commitment.


Elisa Mason
Consultant, Forced Migration Portal Project
Refugee Studies Centre, Univ. of Oxford



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