Leaders and representatives from 193 member countries in the world, including Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena attended the summit, which inaugurated under the patronage of UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon.
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Obama, who hosted a “Leaders Summit on Refugees” during the 71st UN General Assembly session in United Nations on Tuesday, said the world was facing a refugee crisis of “epic proportions” with more than 65 million people having been driven from their homes, more than any time since the World War-II.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – It was a unique event for the United Nations laced with nostalgia, humor and tributes – the secretary-general and the US president toasting each other for the last time in front of the world’s leaders. Over 20 million of them are refugees, the vast majority of whom are now living in just 10 countries.
“We are not as unified as we should be in pushing to make it stop”, he said, describing the global refugee crisis as both a humanitarian and security challenge that tests countries’ ability to take collective action. He drew a parallel to the Holocaust, calling the U.S. move to turn away Jews fleeing Nazi Germany a stain on the United States’ collective conscience.
“In order to move forward though, we do have to acknowledge that the existing path to global integration requires a course correction”, Mr Obama said.
The line also was one of several oblique references to Donald Trump, as a subtext of Obama’s speech was an argument against the Republican presidential nominee’s candidacy.
“In the South China Sea, a peaceful resolution of disputes offered by law will mean far greater stability than the militarization of a few rocks and reefs”, he said, referring to territorial disputes between China and USA allies in the region.
End occupation of Palestinian land: Obama was posted in World of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on September 21, 2016 and was last updated on September 21, 2016.
“In a world that left the age of empire behind, we see Russian Federation attempting to recover lost glory through force”, Obama said.
Obama said the more than 50 countries and global organizations that participated in the summit had collectively increased their contributions to humanitarian groups and United Nations appeals this year by some $4.5 billion. China said it was pledging US$300 million, while the United Kingdom said it would resettle 20,000 and provide nearly US$2 billion in aid – a roughly 10 percent bump. “To test, first and foremost, our ability to end conflicts, because so numerous world’s refugees come from just three countries ravaged by war – Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia”, he said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the annual General Assembly debate on Tuesday with a call to end the fighting in Syria as he condemned the “sickening, savage” attack on an aid convoy.
Britain’s new prime minister, a first-time speaker at the U.N. event, also called for global cooperation, brushing off those who believed a United Kingdom outside of the European Union would become insular.
Private companies were stepping up, too.
More than four dozen USA businesses also pledged $650 million in support to help refugees, the White House announced Tuesday.
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Confirming that dozens of countries had pledged to double the number of refugees resettled to 360,000 in 2016, Obama urged countries to “welcome the stranger in our midst”.
