World leaders at UN approve plan for refugee crisis

The U.N. campaign against xenophobia comes at a time when welcoming migrants and refugees has become a divisive issue in Europe and the United States.

Speaking at the summit opening, United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein made a rousing appeal to confront “race-baiting bigots”, recalling that the refugee crisis stemmed from the world’s failure to end the war in Syria.

“We have committed to resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees through our Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme over the course of this parliament – we are on track to achieve that and have already provided refuge to more than 2,800 under this route”.

FILE – In this August 13, 2015 file photo, a man carries a girl in his arm as they arrive with other migrants just after dawn on a dinghy after crossing from Turkey to the island of Kos in southeastern Greece.

Also on Monday, in his remarks at the opening session, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi highlighted that the Summit is an extraordinary opportunity to have real impact for refugees.

A failure to confront the refugee crisis will unleash xenophobia, he warned.

World leaders Monday agreed to a far-reaching plan to provide migrant children with access to education and to curb sexual violence at the United Nations’ first-ever Summit for Refugees and Migrants to address the worldwide crisis.

Scores of refugees fleeing war and destitution have surged into Europe in the past year.

Minister Fitzgerald told the summit Ireland recognises that more needs to be done.

She then said: “Second, we need to better distinguish between refugees and economic migrants”.

The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants expresses the political will of world leaders to save lives, protect rights and share responsibility on a global scale.

Representatives of 193 governments agreed to adopt the New York Declaration today, which the UN’s Refugee Agency says is a “political commitment of unprecedented force and resonance”.

Andrzej Duda, President of Poland, left, poses for a photo with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, at U.N. headquarters. “As you will see, my report was a strong one”, Ban said.

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 U.S. goals of increasing humanitarian aid by $3 billion, doubling resettlement and increasing access to education for one million youngsters and access to employment for another million of the displaced.

“Both summits are crucial to raising awareness of refugee and migration concerns, and both events are created to harness the political will of member states to address the global refugee and migration crises we are all facing”, said U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby, speaking in Washington.

The millions of people fleeing the devastating war in Syria have attracted considerable media attention over the past two years, but their plight mirrors that of countless others in less “visible” conflicts from Afghanistan to Congo or the vicious gang violence in Central America that has driven so many to seek safety in the United States.

Nadia Murad Basee Taha, 23, recently appointed a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, told leaders at a U.N. refugee and migrants summit ahead of the 71st General Assembly: “You decide whether it is to be war or peace”.

Mais Balkhi, advocacy and outreach manager for Syria Relief and Development, a US-based group that primarily offers food, shelter and medical aid to people – residents and IDPs – inside Syria, said the UN’s approach is apolitical and timid.