WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama is calling on other countries to allocate more humanitarian funds and immigration opportunities for refugees ahead of the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees planned to be held on the sidelines of the 71st UN General Assembly in September, according to a statement published by the White House.
“In advance of that Summit, the United States is urging other governments to contribute more funding for humanitarian aid operations, to grant more refugees the chance to work and attend school, and to provide more resettlement opportunities for refugees who cannot safely go home or remain where they are,” Obama said.
Obama also urged US non-governmental partners, including the private sector, to contribute more to help refugees.
The president pledged in the statement to continue alleviating “the suffering of refugees abroad, and to welcome them here at home.”
Obama’s statement comes on World Refugee Day, celebrated since 2001.