At summit for refugees and migrants, senior UN officials underline the importance of collective action

19 September 2016 – Speaking at the opening of the United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants, a number of senior UN officials stressed on the importance of the Summit and called on world leaders for collective action to address the global crisis.

Also speaking at the opening session, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Husseinunderlined that the Summit and its outcomes should be reduced to speeches, feel-good interviews and self-congratulation.

“The bitter truth is this Summit was called because we have been largely failing,” he stressed and added that: “It is shameful [that] the victims of abominable crimes should be made to suffer further by our failures to give them protection.”

The UN rights chief underscored that change is possible if the global community acts collectively on this vital subject. However, he also warned that in many countries, people working to ensure the rights, safety and dignity for all peoples are facing grave challenges “by race-baiting bigots, who seek to gain, or retain, power by wielding prejudice and deceit, at the expense of those most vulnerable.”

Pointing to the individuals who continue to pursue extremism and divide people, the UN rights chief said: “We will continue to name you publicly. You may soon walk away from this hall. But not from the broader judgement of ‘we the people’, all the world’s people – not from us.” - Read More, UN
At summit for refugees and migrants, senior UN officials underline the importance of collective action

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