However, the human rights groups have complained that the declaration fall short of what it needed and lack detailing immediate relief for the 65 million refugees, migrants and displaced people. The entity claims to be the first ever global alliance of migrants, refugees, displaced peoples and their families.
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Soros, who in 1947 fled Hungary for England, said he will work with global organizations that help refugees to determine how to invest the money, but he hinted that tech is one likely benefactor. Among them are almost 21.3 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18.
He was addressing world leaders at the United Nations headquarters here yesterday as the organisation adopted a key declaration in the midst of a growing refugee crisis whose roots lie in American and European destabilisation of fragile states.
The 193 UN member states adopted the political declaration at the first-ever high-level United Nations summit on migration held in NY on Monday, committing to better manage the flow of migrants and refugees while ensuring their human rights and protecting vulnerable groups.
“Refugees and migrants are not to be seen as a burden; they offer great potential, if only we unlock it”, U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.
The U.N. campaign against xenophobia comes at a time when welcoming migrants and refugees has become a divisive issue in Europe and the United States.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, refugees are people forced to flee due to armed conflict or persecution, while migrants choose to move in search of a better life. Refugee and human rights advocates call it woefully insufficient given the dimensions of Syria’s tragedy. The Chinese leader stressed the coordinating role of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in solving matters concerning that topic.
He said the worldwide community must now forge a comprehensive global compact on the large-scale movement of refugees and migrants; a compact based on fair and equitable burden sharing; that aims to ensure that the displaced do not become victims of xenophobic attitudes and political expediency; a compact that provides greater avenues for legal migration; and takes a holistic view of the situation.
Only eight countries now host more than half the world’s refugees: Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya and Uganda.
The declaration made no concrete commitments and is not legally binding but rather calls on countries to protect refugees’ human rights, boost humanitarian aid and increase resettlement of refugees.
Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam presented a dire situation facing his country, which hosts 1.5 million Syrian refugees compared with its population of 4 million, and called for a massive resettlement program by the end of the year.
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Also today, in his remarks at the opening session, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi highlighted that the Summit is an extraordinary opportunity to have real impact for refugees.
