NEW YORK (Sputnik) — Countries that are able to take in more refugees fleeing conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, must do so, US President Barack Obama said Sunday.
"Those countries that can, have to do more to accommodate refugees, recognizing that those children are just like ours," Obama stated during a speech addressing the UN Sustainable Development Summit 2015.
Obama listed violence and wars as leading obstacles to reaching the ambitious development goals set by the UN General Assembly.
According to UN estimates, there are more than 60 million refugees worldwide, the majority of whom fled conflict-torn countries in Africa and the Middle East.
The three-day UN development summit kicked off on Friday. The same day, the international community adopted 17 sustainable development goals with the aim of putting an end to global problems such as poverty and inequality by 2030.
The 2030 agenda is set to come into force on January 1, 2016, and replace the current Millennium Development Goals.
