Statement by Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura on the Re-appointment of Mrs. Sadako Ogata, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

September 30, 1998

1. I welcome the re-appointment of Mrs. Sadako Ogata as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on September 29 (Japan time: 30), after she was nominated to continue serving in the post by Mr. Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General, at the 53rd session of the U.N. General Assembly. I anticipate that Mrs. Ogata will play a further active role in resolving the refugee problems of the world.
   
   
2. This re-appointment of Mrs. Ogata is a result of the high evaluation by U.N. member countries and the U.N. Secretary-General of her remarkable achievements in the field of global refugee problems since she first took office in January 1991 and was re-appointed in 1994, including assistance for the repatriation of Cambodian refugees, assistance for refugees and war-affected persons of the former Yugoslavia, and also for refugees in the Great Lakes region of Africa. I hope that the countries concerned will continue to offer Mrs. Ogata their continued support.
   
   
3. Japan warmly welcomes the re-appointment of Mrs. Ogata, whose broad experience and vigorous leadership will continue to be invaluable in an international environment in which the need for humanitarian assistance is increasing all the more. It will maintain its close cooperation with Mrs. Ogata during her third term.