Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' governing body will hold its annual session in Palais des Nations, Geneva, on October 1-5.

The Executive Committee session will be attended by 87 countries' representatives, 14 representatives of countries which are not members of the UNHCR and members of 37 international organizations.

Azerbaijan will be represented by a seven-people-strong delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov, who chairs the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs.

Chairman of the Executive Committee, Permanent Representative of Sweden to the UN Jan Knutsson, will open the five-day meeting on Monday. The Executive Director of the World Food Programme, Ertharin Cousin, will deliver a keynote speech, followed by the address of High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres.

A press release covering the High Commissioner's opening remarks will be issued on Monday morning.

Annual report on international refugee protection -- a global review of refugee and asylum challenges and achievements -- will be presented on Wednesday by Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Erika Feller. A separate press release will be issued on her report.

UNHCR's revised annual budget for 2013 of $3.92 billion will be presented on Thursday.

Throughout next week's meeting of the Executive Committee, a number of side events looking into specific issues are scheduled. Among these, Norway and Switzerland will launch a new state-led initiative on climate change and displacement called the Nansen Initiative.

At the end of the Executive Committee annual meeting, the High Commissioner is scheduled to give his traditional press conference on Friday.

The Executive Committee holds one-week meetings every year that usually take place in Geneva. Azerbaijan was elected a member of the UNHCR on April 26, 2012. The upcoming session will be the first for an Azerbaijani delegation as a full-fledged member.