GENEVA (Sputnik) — The UN chief urged the EU member states to act with solidarity and to expand their commitments on resettling refugees.
"Attempts to demonize them [refugees] are not only offensive; they are factually incorrect. I call on leaders to counter fearmongering with reassurance, and to fight inaccurate information with the truth," Ban said at the opening of the high level meeting on global responsibility sharing for Syrian refugees.
"We must give Syrian refugees hope of a better future" — @UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon https://t.co/gXMx9g8r2G pic.twitter.com/acY2Pj1yLb
— UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) 30 March 2016
The UN chief stressed that when managed properly, accepting refugees might be a win for everyone, adding that refugees could bring new skills and experience to aging workforce of the accepting nations.
"Today they are refugees, tmw they can be students & professors, scientists & researchers, workers & caregivers." — #UNSG #Syria @refugees
— Amin Awad (@Awad_Amin_) 30 March 2016
The Syrian civil war is responsible for the highest refugee population in the world, with over 4 million refugees having fled Syria to neighboring Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt, according to the UN data. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians fled to the European Union.
Can #refugees revive #Europe’s ageing population? https://t.co/l0BaPD8WJ8 pic.twitter.com/92d3ERbpqy
— World Economic Forum (@wef) 29 March 2016
The EU member states agreed in 2015 to resettle 160,000 refugees throughout the bloc under the EU mandatory quota scheme.
