“Protecting and assisting refugees is a part of our history as a nation, and we will continue to alleviate the suffering of refugees overseas and to welcome them here at home, because doing so reflects our American values and our noblest traditions as a nation, enriches our society, and strengthens our collective security”, the president said in June on World Refugee Day.
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The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants was approved Monday morning by the 193 member states present for the first summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants.
The General Assembly gathers in yearly sessions to deliberate policy-making, discuss important issues of global concern such as peace and security, and handle budgetary matters for the United Nations, playing a key role in the financing of peacekeeping.
All nations must do more to help stem the world’s massive tide of refugees and migrants and develop global standards for their treatment, said dozens of leaders attending a United Nations summit on the crisis held Monday.
According to the United Nations, in 2015 there were 65 million forcibly displaced people.
In a statement to the press on the sidelines of the Summit on Refugees and Migrants, held as part of the 41st UNGA, Birou noted that King Mohammed VI called, in the royal speech on November 6, 2013, for elaborating a national policy based on a holistic approach and centered on the human dimension and human rights, saying that the NY declaration is part of this vision.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu of Turkey – the largest refugee host in the world, with 3 million refugees – warned in remarks at the meeting that racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia would backfire and fuel more terrorism.
The summit will be composed of several plenary sessions and six roundtables discussing topics such as the root causes of large movements of refugees, vulnerabilities of migrants traveling from their place of origin to countries of arrival, and worldwide cooperation for the protection of displaced people. Doors are closed to us, higher education is denied to us.
“We must also be clear that this crisis has been exacerbated by unprecedented levels of uncontrolled migration”, May told the summit.
The U.N.is placing more emphasis on fighting discrimination and xenophobia relating to refugees and migrants as countries close their borders to the growing human exodus.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power noted that, to date, “a small number of countries have been carrying a disproportionate share of the refugee opportunity and burden”. You may soon walk away from this hall.
He said: “These proposals indicate that the Prime Minister is intent on attempting to reinforce the untenable status quo; blocking off people’s escape routes and leaving poor countries looking after almost nine out of 10 of the world’s refugees”.
“The bitter truth is, this summit was called because we have been largely failing; failing the long-suffering people of Syria, in not ending the war in its infancy; failing others in now chronic conflict zones, for the same reason; failing millions of migrants who deserve far more than lives marked by cradle-to-grave indignity and desperation”, he told delegates in NY.
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The agency, which has more than 10,000 staffers working on five continents, will bring its expertise to the crisis. “[It is] necessary if our economies and societies are to flourish, and highly desirable if we have responsible and humane migration polices”. He said: “In the face of a changing world, it is vital that we do not give in to fear, but that we strive to maintain our principles and common humanity”.
