UN calls for better ways to address large movements of refugees, migrants

The United Nations issued a report on Monday on large movements of refugees and migrants, calling for better ways to address the issue based on international responses.

The report came in the context of a serious global phenomenon that a growing number of migrants lost their lives along the migratory routes and xenophobic rhetoric have been on the rise in communities that accept them.

The report -- In Safety and Dignity: Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants -- said large movements of people will continue or possibly increase as a result of violent conflict, poverty, climate change, disasters and environmental degradation.

It recommended that the international community should help address root causes of the issue, protect people in transit and counter xenophobia as well as strengthening inclusion in host communities.

According to UN statistics, around 60 million people -- half of them children-- are now refugees and internally displaced persons. In 2015, the number of international migrants and refugees reached 224 million, an increase of 41 percent from 2000.

In addition, over 46,000 migrants have died along migratory routes across the globe since 2000. In 2014 and 2015 alone the global count was over 10,400.

The UN General Assembly is going to convene a high-level plenary meeting on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants on Sept. 19 this year. The report is for the preparation of recommendations on this issue.

In the report, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on member states to adopt a global compact on responsibility-sharing for refugees and another global compact for safe, regular and orderly migration.

According to the UN, almost 90 percent of the world's refugees are hosted in developing countries. Half of the top 10 refugee-hosting countries are now located in sub-Saharan Africa, with four of them being least developed countries.

Ban said he expected the high-level meeting to point the way towards solutions to refugee and migration challenges and commit world leaders to greater global cooperation on these issues.

Source: XINHUA