A POWERFUL VOICE FOR LIFESAVING ACTION

For Immediate Release: August 3, 2010

Contact: Refugees International, Gabrielle Menezes
P: 202-828-0110 x225 gabrielle@refugeesinternational.org

Humanitarian Leader Michel Gabaudan Named As

Next President of Refugees International

Washington, D.C. -- Refugees International (RI), the leading advocacy organization on refugee
crises worldwide, today announced the appointment of Michel Gabaudan as its new president.
Mr. Gabaudan brings to RI a dedicated history of service to refugees, most recently as Regional
Representative for the United States and the Caribbean for the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"In my twenty-five year career with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees I have
seen first-hand the incredible challenges humanitarian actors face trying to serve families forced
from their homes by conflict or crisis," said Mr. Gabaudan. "Refugees International has played a
tremendously important role in advocating for more effective delivery of humanitarian assistance
and protection, which has made a real difference on the ground to some of the world's most
vulnerable people. I am very proud to have the opportunity to help RI continue with its vital and
life changing work."

Mr. Gabaudan arrives at a pivotal moment as the organization works to promote solutions to a
growing number of refugee crises around the world. More than forty million people are currently
displaced by conflict in countries as varied as Iraq, Sudan, Pakistan, Colombia and the D.R.
Congo. In addition, tens of millions of people could be displaced by climate change over the next
50 years.

"I share our entire board's enthusiasm in welcoming Michel to Refugees International," said
Eileen Shields-West, Chair of Refugees International's Board of Directors. "Michel's experience
on the ground as a physician and UNHCR field officer and his subsequent leadership in the UN's
refugee agency, position him to propel Refugees International forward in its mission to bring
attention and action to refugees and displaced persons worldwide."

Michel Gabaudan's career with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
spans more than 25 years and includes service in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific.
Prior to his most recent role, he served as the Regional Representative for UNHCR in Beijing.

Mr. Gabaudan's UN career took him to field operations in Cameroon and Pakistan where he
witnessed thousands of people displaced without access to health care, water and food. He spent
several years at the agency's headquarters in Geneva, where he served as the first public health
advisor to the organization and later oversaw the agency's donor relations service. Prior to
joining UNHCR, he utilized medical and tropical public health training to serve vulnerable
populations in Guyana, Zambia, Brazil, London and Yemen.

"The board was particularly impressed by Michel's mix of deep personal compassion and
dedication to refugee issues, and his breadth of experience and skills," added Shields-West.

"Michel has spent his career delivering critical assistance on the ground, leading wide-reaching
humanitarian programs and negotiating politically sensitive agreements to secure refuge for
families uprooted by crisis. We couldn't have found a more qualified or dedicated leader for RI."

Mr. Gabaudan will start at Refugees International on September 7. António Guterres, the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said in statement to UNHCR staff regarding Mr.
Gabaudan's retirement from the agency, "Michel represents the very best of UNHCR:
multilingual, exceptionally politically and diplomatically able, a natural leader and excellent team
builder. He has served our organization on every continent, heading offices in several of the
world's most politically challenging and exacting environments. Betraying his training as a
medical doctor, Michel has combined an insistence on precision in diagnosis with a deeply
humanitarian commitment to relief."

Refugees International advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and
promotes solutions to displacement crises. Started in 1979 as a citizens' movement to protect
Indochinese refugees, the organization has since expanded to become the leading advocacy
organization that provokes action from global leaders to resolve refugee crises. The organization
accepts no government or UN funding.

For a full biography, please go to: www.refugeesinternational.org/president.

Refugees International is a Washington, DC-based organization that advocates to end refugee

crises and receives no government or UN funding. www.refugeesinternational.org.