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Excellencies, Distinguished Panelists, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me start by welcoming everyone to this event. We are honored by the presence of the PGA-elect, H.E. Mr. Mogens Lykketoft, and of Under Secretary General Christina Gallach.
I also want to recognize the presence of the Ambassadors of Afghanistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Belgium, Denmark and Slovakia and the distinguished representatives of Turkey and the UK as well as representatives from other member states, international organizations and members of the media.
Pakistan took the initiative to convene this panel because the world is confronted with a humanitarian crisis of historic proportions – a global wave of displacement and forced migrations – in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, in East Asia and elsewhere. These massive human movements are the consequence of conflicts, persecution and poverty.
The numbers and trend lines are grim if not alarming. As the recent UNHCR Global Trends report has revealed, forced displacement has topped a record 60 million people globally – a 40 per cent increase in just three years. Every day, a staggering number of people – 42,500 – are forced to leave their homes due to conflict and persecution.
Worldwide, one in every 122 persons is now either a refugee, internally displaced or seeking asylum.
And more than half of the world’s refugees today are children, a number that has risen steadily, up from 41 per cent in 2009, and the highest figure in over a decade. This only magnifies the scale of the tragedy at hand.
The recent and ongoing surge of forced displacement has been accompanied by the tragic loss of lives. Thousands of men, women and children have lost their lives and drowned in the Mediterranean. And in East Asia, thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been reported dead or missing. Without hope of ending their suffering and the violence directed against them, they have been embarking on their journeys of escape, which have turned into journeys of death.
How has the international community responded to all of this? By, frankly, not doing enough and not acting decisively in the face of this humanitarian emergency. The international community – to its shame – has ignored massive human suffering in the past. We are reminded of Rwanda and Srebrenica, among other crises. The current crisis of refugees could mark a new flag of shame.
Unless addressed effectively, this multiple crisis could produce grave consequences for world order and security.
Here is what the UNHCR chief said of the international response to the present humanitarian challenge. “We are witnessing a paradigm change, an unchecked slide into an era in which the scale of global forced displacement as well as the response required is now clearly dwarfing anything seen before”.
This speaks to the urgency and need for today’s conversation.
The questions we need to ask are many.
Why have we not seen a decisive humanitarian response to this unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe? Why is the present toolkit of political, legal, diplomatic and economic measures, falling so short of what is needed? Why has the global response not been able to decisively address symptoms much less deal with the underlying causes of this humanitarian crisis?
I would like to speak out today because, when confronted with a major refugee flow, my country, with modest resources, responded with much greater humanity and generosity than that we witnessing elsewhere today.
As the UNHCR report notes, Pakistan remains the world’s second largest refugee-hosting country. I would add, that in terms of the protracted presence of refugees, it is still the world’s top refugee-hosting country.
As you all know, Pakistan has been host to millions of Afghan refugees for over three decades. We hosted 3.2 million refugees at their peak and are still home to around 2.5 million.
We never turned any back. We didn't send the equivalent of gunboats to stop them. Nor did we erect barriers or walls but embraced them as part of our humanitarian duty.
Before I give the floor to our distinguished panelists let me make a simple point. Those embarking on their journey of escape are desperate people, fleeing violence and poverty. This is a journey made by millions throughout history. The response to forced displacement must be humane. To ultimately prevent such mass movements, peace and prosperity need to be promoted globally and equitably. As has been said so often, islands of affluence cannot survive in a sea of poverty and suffering.
Here I would also add that those who have borne the burden of refugees and migrants from conflicts and chaos in the Middle East and Africa must be commended and assisted: Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Italy, Greece and Spain. Their burden must also be shared.
The purpose of today’s event is to focus attention on what should be our collective responsibility and to start a conversation that builds an understanding of what is unfolding before us; assess the scale of this human tragedy; evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of humanitarian responses; and hopefully, craft some creative strategies to address this growing challenge.
Before concluding, I would like to take this opportunity to urge the PGA-elect to consider building on today’s event and take this conversation to a larger platform.
Thank you again for being part of this conversation.