We come together today - to deal with arguably the biggest challenge to
face the world in this century: the relentless, recurring, long march
across the globe of the dispossessed, the distraught, the destroyed. We
know the reasons, the many reasons, starting with poverty, hunger and
climate change. These are driving the mass migration of people as much, if
not more, than conflict and violence. But conflict and violence, of course
continue also to be primary causes of migration.
Indeed, we in Ireland understand from our own experience the forces that
can push people to leave their homes for an uncertain future. During the
1960s, the population of my country was less than half what it had been in
the early 1840s due to mass emigration that began in response to famine and
continued virtually unabated for over a century because of poverty and lack
of opportunity.
While we have a keen awareness of the cost to Ireland in terms of lost
potential from this forced migration, we also understand the contributions
that those who have left - and their descendants – have made to the
countries where they now live as well as to their country of origin or
ancestry.
This massive agonising challenge demands that the international community
work together. Constantly. We must be as relentless as the challenge we
face.
And - even more important - we must be on our guard, all day every day,
lest the very scale of the problem turns our faces towards processes and
numbers, and away from people. People must be at the heart of our
approach. We must ensure a humane and dignified approach to international
protection and must establish legal and safe pathways for migration.
We must work together to ensure that refugees and migrants find safety and
that adequate resources are made available to those we are obligated to
protect, to enable them to rebuild their lives.
Right now, the burden of hosting refugees is disproportionally borne by
developing countries. A more equitable sharing of responsibilities is
urgently needed. Ireland is willing to step up to the plate on this.
Ireland’s response to the current crisis has been two-pronged in nature. It
has involved action at both national and international levels.
Ireland has had a successful national resettlement programme in place since
2000 which has resettled more than 1,500 people from 30 countries,
providing housing, language training, medical assistance and integration
opportunities. Turning specifically to our new Refugee Protection
Programme, Ireland has committed to admit 4,000 people under that
programme.
As part of our humanitarian response, our naval vessels have also been
performing vital search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea. They
have rescued more than 10,000 people since the operation commenced in May
2015.
Our focus has also been on supporting international responses. We are
strongly committed to using the foreign policy instruments at our disposal
– political dialogue, development cooperation, humanitarian assistance – as
part of our response. We have for instance worked actively to provide
support to the UNHCR and other agencies charged with meeting the needs of
refugees.
Equally important is the support that we provide to countries hosting large
numbers of refugees and migrants.
Ireland has committed to providing multi-annual funding to the World Food
Programme; some €60 million over the next three years, which is
specifically targeted at refugees, particularly Syrian refugees. We
encourage the international community to adopt multi-annual commitments in
order to provide organisations such as the World Food Programme with
greater certainty around their funding.
The international community has a collective responsibility to look at all
of the options available to pursue a more long-term and sustainable
strategy on this issue. Dialogue and cooperation with countries of origin
and transit must be strengthened and operationalised.
Fundamentally, of course, the true solution to refugee movements is to end
the instability, conflict and oppression which force people to leave their
homelands. Women’s leadership can help to alleviate conflicts that have
contributed to many of the refugee crises that we face. Ireland is a strong
supporter of the women, peace and security agenda because peace processes
that involve women at all levels have proven more durable and successful.
Today’s humanitarian challenge requires a global response. We must share
the responsibility for finding and implementing solutions.
Ireland believes that the outcome document from today’s Summit sends a
strong message of our political commitment to a wide range of actions
which, taken together, will ensure a more humane and compassionate response
in future to this issue.
Ireland stands ready to play its part in addressing this crisis. We know
that more needs to be done. We are open to seeing what can be done in
cooperation with others to end the suffering and the misery of so many
people. I would like to congratulate Ireland’s Ambassador, David Donoghue,
and his team and their Jordanian colleagues for their leadership as
co-facilitators of this event. I would also like to thank the President of
the General Assembly and the Secretary General for extending this
invitation to Ireland.
ENDS
Note for Editors
Background Note on UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants – 19 September 2016
The UN General Assembly is today hosting a high-level summit to address
large movements of refugees and migrants, with the aim of bringing
countries together behind a more humane and coordinated approach.
This is the first time the General Assembly has called for a summit at the
Heads of State and Government level on large movements of refugees and
migrants and it is a historic opportunity to come up with a blueprint for a
better international response. It is a watershed moment to strengthen
governance of international migration and a unique opportunity for creating
a more responsible, predictable system for responding to large movements of
refugees and migrants.
A press release New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants adopted by
all Member States at historic UN Summit can be accessed at
http://refugeesmigrants.un.org/sites/default/files/un_press_release_-_new_york_declaration_-_19_september_2016.pdf
Who is organising?
The High Level summit is being organized by the President of the General
Assembly on behalf of Member States.
In January 2016, the Secretary-General appointed a Special Adviser, Karen
AbuZayd, to work with United Nations entities and undertake consultations
with Member States and other relevant stakeholders in the lead up to the
Summit. This will include overseeing the Secretary-General’s report on
large movements of refugees and migrants, to be submitted to the General
Assembly in May 2016.
In February 2016, the President of the General Assembly appointed H.E. Mrs.
Dina Kawar, Permanent Representative of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and
H.E. Mr. David Donoghue, Permanent Representative of Ireland as
co-facilitators to lead open, transparent and inclusive consultations with
Member States to finalise the organisational arrangements, including on a
possible outcome, for the High level summit in September.
Further information re the background to the Summit can be found at
http://refugeesmigrants.un.org/background-0
Participation
The Summit will be attended by heads of state and government, Ministers,
and leaders from the UN System, civil society, private sector,
international organizations, academia, and beyond in alignment with the
General Assembly resolution establishing the summit’s modalities.
Is there a related event on 20 September 2016?
Also on the margins of the General Assembly, on 20 September 2016, the
United States President Obama is hosting the Leaders' Summit on Refugees,
alongside co-hosts Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, Jordan, Mexico and Sweden,
which will appeal to governments to pledge significant new commitments on
refugees.
The Tánaiste will participate as Ireland's representative at this event.
While the Leaders' Summit will focus on refugees, not migrants, the General
Assembly High-Level Summit will address large movements of both. The two
events will complement one another.