1.Choi Seok-young, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the UN Secretariat and International Organizations in Geneva, was elected as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at the Committee’s 64th session held on October 4. The Ambassador will serve at the post for one year from October 2013 to October 2014.

2. As Chairman of the Executive Committee, Ambassador Choi will consult with the High Commissioner for Refugees on refugee issues; preside over meetings of the UNHCR Standing Committee and Executive Committee and other informal meetings; and coordinate the positions of the UNHCR’s member states on key issues.

3. The High Commissioner for Refugees, a humanitarian aid agency established in 1951 under a UN General Assembly resolution, is currently conducting operations in 120 countries to protect persons of concern from across the world, including Syrian refugees. The ROK has been working closely with the agency in protecting North Korean defectors.

4. Ambassador Choi’s chairmanship of the UNHCR Executive Committee is expected to contribute to the ROK’s efforts to make further progress in its domestic policy on refugee issues, including the entry of its Refugee Act into force in July 2013 and the opening of a refugee support center in June 2013. It is also expected to help the ROK play a bigger role in international efforts to protect refugees and strengthen human rights protections of North Korean defectors. 


                           Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

*unofficial translation