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It is indeed essential for UNHCR to keep a very close strategic relationship ... with civil society in general, and the NGO community in particular.Guterres also discussed the shrinking of asylum space, highlighting the development of xenophobic attitudes and its implication in the way migration and asylum are being perceived, particularly recently in Europe. "There are clear tendencies to see foreigners in general as the problem, or the enemy, and that has a serious implication for both your and our actions."Other global challenges and "mega" trends identified by Guterres included demographic pressure; urbanization; climate change and related environmental degradation and the devastating impact of the global economic crisis on the developing world."With the impact of the global economic impact on our resources, and with the shrinking humanitarian space and the shrinking asylum space, I think we are in trouble," he said, adding: "To be honest, I look to 2010 as a very difficult year for our common work."The High Commissioner outlined reforms undertaken by UNHCR to cut structural costs and channel more funds to field operations, including through NGO partners. These had helped put UNHCR in better shape to face the challenges and to enhance its partnerships – in 2008, work implemented by partners for UNHCR accounted for 35 percent of the agency's budget, up from 31 percent in 2005, according to Guterres.Some 380 people from about 140 organizations, including 70 national NGOs, attended the meeting, which began on Monday and discussed a wide range of issues of mutual concern during regional and thematic sessions.There was particular focus this year on urban refugees, protracted refugee situations and the agency's new global assessment programme aimed at determining the real needs of refugees and internally displaced people, the costs of meeting those needs and the consequences of any gaps."It's a time for UNHCR and NGOs to meet at the strategic level and for the senior staff of UNHCR to be available for questions and discussion with our partners from all over, not just the partners from Geneva or the headquarters, but also from the deep field. That's what makes it unique," Bernard Doyle, head of UNHCR's inter-agency unit, said earlier this week.NGOs are vital partners for UNHCR, implementing programmes for refugees and internally displaced people in some of the world's most remote and difficult places.António Guterres
