‘We Must Reject Politics of Division and Fear,’ Deputy Secretary-General Tells Migration Event, Urging All to Build Bridges, Not Walls
Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson’s closing remarks at the high-level event "Strengthening cooperation on migration and refugee movements in the perspective of the new development agenda", in New York today:
Today's meeting has highlighted the challenge before us. The largest migration and refugee movements of our times are complex, multifaceted and demand strong cooperation at the regional and global level. Allow me to make an informal overview of the issues to take forward for consideration and action.
The Secretary-General highlighted eight principles that must guide our actions and many of you echoed those points: saving lives; enhancing protection; upholding human rights and the principle of non-discrimination; preparedness and prevention; responsibility sharing; cooperation between origin, transit and destination countries; managing migration and anticipating future challenges.
At this historic juncture, we must reject the politics of division and fear. In our globalized world, we must build bridges, not walls. And we must get out of our silos and learn how to work cross-cutting in a horizontal way.
We must be creative and compassionate in our solutions. We have heard several proposals today: lower remittance costs, humanitarian visas, scholarships for refugee students, temporary protection, tax breaks for companies sponsoring refugees, and many others.
At the regional level, ASEAN [Association of South-East Asian Nations] Ministers addressed the issue of migration in their annual meeting yesterday here in New York. The European Union has adopted a number of measures and is preparing together with African States, as well as with the African Union and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a summit in Valetta in November. And the upcoming Global Forum on Migration and Development in Istanbul is an opportunity to position migration as an integral part of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. To address the financial and humanitarian needs of crises leading to large population movements, we look forward to the World Humanitarian Summit.
With respect to Syrian refugees, the G7 Ministerial Conference and the proposed Norwegian-German pledging conference can tackle the financial and other aspects of the ongoing crisis. Many Member States have pledged their support to Syria and countries in the region in different forums, including several Member States that have made pledges here today. We must continue to press for a political solution to the crisis in Syria. There is no military solution.
All these separate tracks need to be followed through and coordinated, as well as possible, forming an independent whole. The United Nations is also playing its part in this global effort. The General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council have set out their plans today.
The Security Council must do more to prevent and resolve conflicts, one of the root causes and key drivers of migration and refugee flows. This goes especially for the war in Syria and other crises in the Middle East and Africa. Here, regional Powers also have an important responsibility. The Secretary-General, and the United Nations system as a whole, will provide the support and good office needed.
Our development systems will address root causes and support sustainable migration policies. Our humanitarian and human rights system must be given the chance to protect people in need. Our conflict prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding capacities should be further developed and utilized.
More than ever, we need a comprehensive, global response to refugee and migration movements, that is effective, feasible and in line with international refugee law, humanitarian standards and universal human rights. We should integrate our efforts into a comprehensive road map on migration and refugee movements.
For this, a dedicated international conference may be needed, as suggested by some of you today. The United Nations system is prepared to accept an active role in this regard, on the basis of existing mandates.