According to the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR), among them are almost 21.3 million refugees, of which over half are below the age of 18.
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At the summit later, Mrs May will tell fellow politicians there should be a better distinction between refugees and people attempting to enter a country for economic reasons.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) The issue of what to do about the world’s 65.3 million displaced people takes center stage at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday when leaders from around the globe converge on NY for the first-ever summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants.
Thousands of people turned up for the march, where they chanted: “Theresa May, you will say refugees are welcome here”.
The original intent was for the UN’s 193 member states to craft a more coordinated approach that protects the human rights of refugees and migrants, amid the largest movement of displaced people in Europe since the end of the Second World War.
The gathering comes as May faces criticism in the United Kingdom for failing to do enough to help refugees and demands to improve the UK’s pledge to settle 20,000 people from Syria over four years.
Speaking ahead of the summit, May said resources should be focused on “refugees in desperate need of protection”.
She urged the prime minister to resettle 500 unaccompanied child refugees from the Calais camp and ensure that none were left by Christmas.
“But we can not simply focus on treating the symptoms of this crisis, we need to address its root causes too”.
May is also set to announce an increase in Britain’s aid spending on migration and support for host countries.
Governments specifically acknowledge that the protection of refugees and assistance to host states is a shared global responsibility, and not to be borne by host countries alone.
The Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford MP, who chairs Labour’s refugee taskforce, suggested the Government should bring forward its target to help 20,000 refugees by two years to 2018 and then help more.
Representatives of governments from around the world will be gathering in NY tomorrow for the summit, with a Leaders’ Summit on Refugees to take place on Tuesday.
“As one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we want the U.K.to do more to lead [the] global humanitarian response”, she stated.
“Frankly, the United Kingdom should be saying we will take 20,000 or 25,000 a year – so four times the current level”.
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More concrete progress is expected at a follow-up summit on Tuesday called by President Barack Obama, where at least 45 countries are expected to make pledges that are in line with USA goals of increasing humanitarian aid by $3 billion, doubling resettlement and increasing access to education for 1 million youngsters and access to employment for another million of the displaced.
