As the world’s most vulnerable people flee violence, conflict and poverty, we face a refugee crisis that is getting worse. At the heart of this crisis is a profound breakdown in international protection systems. As a result, displaced people are left without adequate aid or legal protection. People on the move are exposed to harsh conditions, including hunger, extreme poverty and violence. Many also lose access to work and education. They are often subjected to xenophobia and other forms of discrimination, and women are doubly at risk from gender-based violence.
Large-scale displacement crises are entwined in regional conflict, generating tensions between neighboring states and their governments. Many governments fear their security and state stability are threatened by refugee populations, particularly those from the Middle East. As a result, host states may adopt policies that discourage or punish people who attempt to leave their borders. The world needs to restore the promise of the 1951 Refugee Convention and related agreements.
We need to provide countries of first asylum with the resources they need to keep their doors open to refugees, and to enable refugees to live in dignity by providing them with a rights-respecting space that allows them to work and to realize other social and economic opportunities. At the same time, wealthier nations must increase their generosity and stop competing against each other in a race to the bottom. It is time to end the displacement crisis, and start solving it by addressing the root causes that force people to flee in the first place.