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Urbanisation is an irreversible trend. More and more of the people we care for -- refugees, returnees, the internally displaced and the stateless -- will live in cities and towns and we need to adjust our policies accordingly. Adapted from the source document.

In this transcript of the opening statement by in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at the 57th session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme (October, 2006), Antonio Guterres describes what he sees as "a moment of truth for UNHCR" as the Commission simultaneously faces three challenges of reassessment of the mission, a pressing need for deep & structural reform, & a renewal of top management. In this context, the High Commissioner reviews progress against the six commitments made at the 2005 plenary session. As well as facing these challenges, the Commission also recognizes the need for greater realism and drawing up their budget to achieve their financial stability & predictability by safeguarding immediate & tangible benefit for refugees, deferring or reducing programs with longer-term or strategic impact, & instituting a zero growth policy for staff at headquarters. This transitional budget is the move towards a new management model in which the Deputy High Commissioner will have functions more clearly focused on the financial management of the office. Maintaining faithfulness to the mandate of serving refugees with humanity & efficiency, the High Commissioner restates their unrelenting efforts to keep protection as the heart of their mandate and as the soul of the organization. References. J. Harwell

Guterres outlines the principal aims of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) & notes that while this nonpolitical humanitarian agency is often at odds with political actors around the world, its mandate requires putting the needs of refugees & others at risk before all else. Its duty is protection, particularly for women, children, & the elderly. Guterres proposes the establishment of the office of an Assistant High Commissioner for Protection to reorganize the support services & distribution of food & non-food items & to supply protection to those in need, & contends that refugee women's participation in its administration would be invaluable. He goes on to note the major challenges to be addressed by UNHCR: confronting intolerance, preserving asylum for refugees, & seeking t0 close the gap between relief efforts & development designed to include all. He then describes various situations around the world in which UNHCR is involved, noting th at in 2005, 184 emergency missions were opened in 24 countries on 4 continents. J. Stanton