Sixty years ago, the UN Refugee Convention was signed. Back in 1951, it was born out of the strong “never again” sentiments after World War II, when hundreds of thousands of people still six years after the war ended were still uprooted and destitute. For four of the six decades that the Refugee Convention has been in place, the main beneficiaries of refugee protection were Europeans themselves. This is important to remember in these times, when there are rather tough sentiments towards immigration and asylum issues in many parts of Europe. To me, the situation is crystal clear: Europe has an obligation to help people fleeing persecution, wars and torture, and we need to keep on taking that obligation seriously. That is why it is also important that people who apply for asylum in the EU are received in the same way in all Member States and that we can agree on a Common European Asylum System as soon as possible.
I have many times warned about xenophobia and populist movements, and made calls for better leadership in many EU countries in order to stand up against extreme-right and anti-immigration sentiments on their national arenas. Today, when we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Refugee Convention, this message is even more important. The EU owes it to all refugees and to itself to uphold the values of its international commitments, and to continue to give protection and prospects of a better future to those who really need our help. This day is a reminder of that.
The French newspaper Le Monde published today a joint article signed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Mr António Guterres and myself. You can read it here.
Email This Post
RSS comments feed on this entry