Iraq News

World leaders focus on plight of refugees

The first-ever summit on refugees and migrants opened at the UN on Monday (September 19th) to address the plight of the record-breaking 65 million people who are on the move worldwide, AFP reported.

Across the globe, people are fleeing wars such as the protracted Syrian conflict, repression and poverty.

Now in its sixth year, the war in Syria has driven nearly nine million people from their homes, while an additional four million have fled to neighbouring countries or are making the perilous journey to Europe.

The summit kicks off a week of high-level diplomacy as world leaders are set to address the annual UN General Assembly meeting, which this year will be dominated by the conflict in Syria.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's representative, Karen Abuzayd, said the summit could lead to a significant increase in the number of safe havens for refugees worldwide.

The 193 UN member states will agree to meet the targets set by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is advocating for the resettlement of 5% of the global refugee population, she said.

That would amount to 1.1 million resettlements in 2017, compared to 100,000 in 2015, Abuzayd said.

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