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UN Migrant Summit 'Missed Opportunity' for Rich Countries to Take More Refugees

© REUTERS / Stefan WermuthA display of lifejackets worn by refugees during their crossing from Turkey to the Greek island of Chois, are seen Parliament Square in central London, Britain September 19, 2016
A display of lifejackets worn by refugees during their crossing from Turkey to the Greek island of Chois, are seen Parliament Square in central London, Britain September 19, 2016 - Sputnik International
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The UN's first summit on refugees and migrants was a "missed opportunity" for rich countries to take on more responsibility for the 65 million people displaced by conflict and persecution, Marissa Ryan, Advocacy and Campaign Manager at Oxfam Ireland, told Radio Sputnik.

On September 19 world leaders attending the first UN Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants, at the opening session of the UN General Assembly.

At the summit, the governments of 193 countries adopted a non-binding commitment to protecting the human rights of all refugees and migrants across the world.

The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants commits governments to protect the human rights of all refugees and migrants. This includes measures such as promoting equal rights for women and girls, ensuring that all refugee and migrant children receive education, and preventing sexual and gender-based violence

The declaration also states that countries which are rescuing, receiving and hosting large numbers of refugees and migrants should also receive adequate support.

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Marissa Ryan, Advocacy and Campaign Manager at Oxfam Ireland, told Radio Sputnik that the declaration is in fact "a missed opportunity." She said countries in the world's north should do more to help refugees and migrants, and condemned their refusal to agree to concrete measures such as  resettling ten percent of those displaced.

"This was the very first migration summit, it was an opportunity for UN member states to get together. We have poor countries which have huge proportions of refugees being sheltered in their countries at present and wealthier countries in the global north which have relatively low numbers of refugees and migrants in their countries, and which have the ability to increase their responsibility-sharing," Ryan said.

"Oxfam very recently released a piece of research demonstrating that the six wealthiest economies host only nine percent of the world's refugee population. At the summit there was an opportunity for them to increase and really share responsibility for refugees and migrants," Ryan said.

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Oxfam and other campaign groups want world leaders to commit to resettling ten percent of the people displaced across the world, creating "safe and legal pathways" for migration, and expand work and education opportunities for refugees. Oxfam is also calling for increased financial support for host countries in the global south so they can better care for their host communities, and refugees and migrants.

"However, we saw very little action, and we saw some really negative rowing-back on human rights language that has been hard-fought for the last 15 years, especially around things like protection of the rights of the child," Ryan said.

"We believe that rich countries must urgently step up to welcome, protect and support refugees. Our research demonstrates that richer countries hold only a tiny proportion of globally displaced people and they need to act immediately to share responsibility," Ryan said.

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