Obama draws pledges from 50 countries to take in 360000 refugees

“In remote corners of the world, citizens are demanding respect for the dignity of all people no matter their gender or race or religion or disability or sexual orientation, and those who deny others dignity are subject to public reproach”, Obama told the U.N. Genera Assembly in NY on Tuesday. “It oftentimes surfaces tensions in our society when we have disorderly and disproportionate migration into some countries that skews our politics and is subject to demagoguery”, he said.

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.

In an apparent swipe at USA presidential candidate Donald Trump, Obama said the refugee crisis was a “test of our common humanity, whether we give in to suspicion and fear and build walls”.

“I want to suggest to you today that we must go forward and not backward”, he added.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said that a global response was needed against terrorists who are exploiting banking networks, targeting airlines and using social media “to spread an ideology that is recruiting people to their cause all over the world”.

Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said the president was cognizant of the fact that bright spots such as economic growth and climate change cooperation are offset by the “great deal of unease” in the world, including Syria’s civil war and concerns about Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine.

But he also noted positive global developments during his decade as the United Nations chief.

Both Ban and Obama were making their final speeches at the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.

Obama said the more than 50 countries and worldwide 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.

The UN estimates there are about 21.3 million refugees forced to flee due to armed conflict or persecution.

“Collectively, our nations are roughly doubling the number of refugees that we admit to our countries to more than 360,000 this year”, Mr Obama announced.

Mr Obama welcomed the pledges of increased assistance.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II offered an impassioned defense of Islam while condemning extremists as outlaws who want to “drag us back to the dark ages”.

“We have to imagine what it would be like for our family and our children if the unspeakable happened to us”.