(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) Geneva, June 20 (QNA) - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has warned that "divisive" political talk on asylum and migration, and "disturbing levels of xenophobia" threaten the international agreements that protect those forced to flee war or persecution.
In a statement on World Refugee Day 2016, Grandi said "the number, complexity and protracted nature of today''s conflicts mean that forced displacement has now reached a level unprecedented since the founding of the U.N. itself; substantially over 60 million people are now uprooted around the world. Each day another refugee tragedy is played out in the media; of children, mothers and fathers losing their lives in a desperate bid to escape violence." "Instead of burden sharing, we see borders closing, instead of political will there is political paralysis. And humanitarian organizations like mine are left to deal with the consequences, while at the same time struggling to save lives on limited budgets," said the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.
UNHCR marks World Refugee Day each year on June 20 to celebrate the courage and resilience of families forced to flee war or persecution. Each year, it seeks to find a glimmer of hope in global statistics to show that the world is finding solutions to help heal the trauma refugees are living through. "But this year the hopeful signs are hard to find," Grandi said.
"World leaders can no longer watch passively as so many lives are needlessly lost. We must be smart about finding solutions to help refugees. We must find humane and dignified means to ensure refugees don’t risk their lives and those of their families by resorting to ruthless traffickers or by boarding flimsy boats in a bid to reach safety," he added.
A United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting will take place on September 19 to address the large movements of refugees and migrants. (QNA)