UNHCR HIGH COMMISSIONER GUTERRES LETTER TO

UNCLAS GENEVA 000102 DEPT FOR PRM/MCE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF PREL PHUM SUBJECT: UNHCR HIGH COMMISSIONER GUTERRES LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA ¶1. (U) U.S. Mission Geneva is transmitting the following letter from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres to President Barack Obama. ¶2. (U) Begin Text 28 Janurary 2009 Dear Mr. President, I have the honour to congratulate you on your inauguration as the 44th President of the United States of America. On behalf of all the staff of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),I would like to convey our very best wishes for the successful accomplishment of your functions. I am looking forward to working with Secretary of State Clinton and your Ambassadors to the United Nations in New York and here in Geneva. A renewed dedication to multilateralism will greatly benefit the world's most vulnerable people, including the persecuted and uprooted people UNHCR is mandated to protect. Given the numerous humanitarian crises in the world today, from Sudan to Afghanistan, from Iraq to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a strong commitment to addressing these situations with vision and resolve is more critical than ever. The United States of America has a long tradition of leadership in refugee protection and assistance. I am confident that the partnership between my Office and your administration will grow stronger as we together seek to give the millions of displaced people worldwide a voice and a dignified future. Yours sincerely, (with my warmest personal regards) Antonio Guterres His Excellency Mr. Barack Obama President of the United States of America End Text. ¶3. (U) U.S. Mission Geneva will pouch letter back to PRM/MCE. STORELLA