Ban Ki-Moon: Handle refugees and migrants humanely

The United Nations General Assembly will bring together world leaders to address one of the leading challenges of our time: responding to large movements of refugees and migrants, in September.

War, human rights violations, underdevelopment, climate change and natural disasters are leading more people to leave their homes than at any time.

More than 60 million people, half of them children, have fled violence or persecution and are now refugees and internally displaced persons.

An additional 225 million are migrants who have left their countries in search of survival.
But this is not a crisis of numbers; it is a crisis of solidarity. Almost 90 per cent of the world’s refugees are hosted in developing countries.

Eight countries host more than half the world’s refugees. Just ten countries provide 75 per cent of the UN’s budget to ease and resolve their plight.

With equitable responsibility sharing, there would be no crisis for host countries. We can afford to help, and we know what we need to do to handle large movements of refugees and migrants.

Yet too often, we let fear and ignorance get in the way. Human needs end up overshadowed, and xenophobia speaks louder than reason.

Countries on the front lines of this crisis are struggling every day to meet the challenge. We need to begin by recognizing our common humanity. Millions of people on the move have been exposed to extreme suffering.

Thousands have died in the Mediterranean, on the Andaman Sea, in the Sahel and in Central America. Refugees and migrants are not “others”; they are as diverse as the human family itself.

Movements of people are a quintessentially global phenomenon that demands a global sharing of responsibility.

Second, far from being a threat, refugees and migrants contribute to the growth and development of host countries as well as their countries of origin.

The better new arrivals are integrated, the greater their contribution to society will be.

We need more measures to promote the social and economic inclusion of refugees and migrants.

Third, political and community leaders have a responsibility to speak out against discrimination and intolerance, and to counter those who seek to win votes through fear mongering and divisiveness.

Fourth, we have to give greater attention to addressing the drivers of forced displacement.

The United Nations continues to strengthen its work to prevent conflict, resolve disputes peacefully and address violations of human rights before they escalate.

One powerful new tool is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a blueprint agreed last year by all 193 members of the United Nations that includes a strong focus on justice, institutions and peaceful societies.

Fifth, we need to strengthen the international systems that manage large movements of people so that they uphold human rights norms and provide the necessary protections.

States must honour their international legal obligations, including the 1951 Refugee Convention. Countries where refugees arrive first should not be left to shoulder the demands alone. My report proposes a “global compact on responsibility sharing for refugees”.

There is a pressing need to do more to combat smugglers and traffickers, to rescue and protect people en route, and to ensure their safety and dignity at borders.

More orderly and legal pathways for migrants and refugees will be crucial, so that desperate people are not forced to turn to criminal networks in their search for safety.

The number of migrants is expected to continue to grow as a result of trade, labour and skill shortages, the ease of travel and communications, rising inequality and climate change.

My report proposes important measures to improve global governance in this area, including through a “global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration.