Earlier in the day, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon while opening the 71st annual debate of the UN General Assembly, called on world leaders to recognize that the important positions they hold are a reflection of the trust the people have in them and not personal property.
Advertisement
The president, though, was unabashed in his critique of Russian Federation as he laid out his diagnosis of the world’s ills.
On Tuesday, the White House announced that 51 American companies have made “new, measurable, and significant” commitments to aid refugees in the United States and around the world.
That’s considered a blistering pace in the world of worldwide diplomacy, reflecting a sense of urgency in the fight against global warming and a desire to seal the deal before the Obama administration leaves office.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has made warnings about such refugees a centerpiece of his campaign – the candidate renewed those warnings in the wake of weekend terror attacks in Minnesota, New York and New Jersey involving foreign-born suspects.
Standing before the United Nations for the last time as president, Barack Obama will reassure foreign leaders that the world is better equipped to tackle its challenges than at nearly any point in history despite a cascade of harrowing crises that seem devoid of viable solutions.
“I believe history will judge us harshly if we do not rise to this moment”, Obama said.
Obama also insisted diplomacy is the only way to end the brutal five-year conflict in Syria, as a ceasefire brokered by Washington and Moscow lay in tatters. “They are powerful. They reflect dissatisfaction among too many of our citizens”.
The administration has yet to release a country-by-country breakdown of the 110,000 refugee figure. “We must go forward, and not backward”.
Seemingly speaking of the US, Mr Obama said there are a lot of nations doing the right thing, but many countries, particularly those blessed with wealth and the benefits of geography, can do more to help.
He said the world is more secure if leaders are prepared to help people in need, but they have to follow through even when the politics are hard.
Obama plans to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to “discuss the need for genuine advancement of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the face of deeply troubling trends on the ground”, according to White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
“If we were to turn refugees away simply due to their background, or religion, or for example because they are Muslim, then we would be reinforcing terrorist propaganda that nations like my own are somehow opposed to Islam”, Mr. Obama said.
Countries participating in Mr Obama’s summit are announcing individual pledges in line with a U.S. goal of increasing humanitarian aid by three billion dollars (£2.3 billion), doubling resettlement and providing access to jobs and education. Obama himself acknowledged that he arrived with outsized expectations rooted “in a discontent with a status quo that has allowed us to be increasingly defined by our differences, and outpaced by our problems”.
He says leaders must have the empathy to imagine what it would be like for their families if the unspeakable were to happen.
Advertisement
Facebook, Twitter, MasterCard, Johnson & Johnson, yogurt maker Chobani are among companies that have pledged financial and in-kind support to help ease access to education, employment and financial services for 6.3 million refugees in more than 20 countries.
