It was his final address to the U.N. General Assembly, and President Obama used it to issue a challenge.
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“Until basic questions are answered about how communities co-exist, the embers of extremism will continue to burn”.
At a summit on refugees held at the United Nations headquarters, Obama called for concerted action from countries around the world to alleviate the refugee crisis that is a test of worldwide system and common humanity.
Obama arrived late to deliver his address so the president of Chad, Idriss Deby, spoke one slot ahead. He criticized “crude populism” which has expanded in the U.S. and in Europe, saying those beliefs “fail to recognize our common humanity”.
Mr Obama sought to use his last appearance before the global body to define how his leadership had put the world on a better trajectory over the last eight years. “Countless human beings will suffer”. “We are not as unified as we should be in pushing to make it stop”.
Obama will raise concerns about Israeli settlement activity in Arab lands during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said.
Trump has controversially proposed building a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico to keep out undocumented migrants.
He made two other references to the ineffectiveness of walls in stopping global forces, quipping in an apparent reference to the Zika virus that “mosquitoes don’t respect walls” and saying of terrorism that “the world is simply too small to be able to build a wall and stop it from affecting our own societies”.
As world leaders gather ed at the United Nations for the annual opening of the General Assembly, the focus was on ensuring that an unprecedented 21 million refugees – as well as more than 40 million internally displaced people – were afforded ways to live secure and productive lives despite their status.
“Protectors must never become predators”, he said.
“When the British people voted to leave the European Union, they did not vote to turn inwards or walk away from any of our partners in the world”, May said, “because the biggest threats to our prosperity and security do not recognize or respect global borders”.
As he exits the world stage, Obama sometimes seems less determined to change the world than to come to terms with it.
“Just as we benefit by combatting inequality within our countries, I believe advanced economies still need to do more to close the gap between rich and poor nations around the globe”.
He said leaders must have the empathy to imagine what it would be like for their families if the unspeakable were to happen.
“Over 2016 – according to a joint statement – the 32 donor countries that take part in the summit have contributed with some extra 4.5 billion dollars to the calls of the United Nations compared to 2015”.
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven pledged to donate more funds and to increase refugee resettlement in his country.
Though he made no direct mention of the US, Mr Obama said wealthy countries with the resources should do more to help. And they underscore that the United States remains the No. 1 provider of humanitarian assistance to the almost 5 million Syrians who have fled their country’s civil war.
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“We can only realize the promise of this institution’s founding – to replace the ravages of war with cooperation – if powerful nations like my own accept constraints”, Mr. Obama declared “Sometimes I’m criticized in my own country for professing a belief in global norms and multilateral institutions”.
