Response to refugee crisis is ‘global responsibility’ — Judeh

AMMAN — Responding to the refugee crisis is a shared global responsibility, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told delegates at a high-level summit in New York. 

Judeh, who is also deputy prime minister, took part in the summit to address mass movement of refugees and migrants on the sidelines of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly. 

The meeting, which concluded on Wednesday, was organised by the permanent delegations from Italy, the Netherlands, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Jordan, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, the International Organisation for Migration and the UNHCR, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Thursday.

Like the crisis itself, the responsibility and the solution to the problem surpass national and regional boundaries, said Judeh.

Countries hosting refugees have suffered severely, especially those who have taken in large numbers, he said, adding that the reality that refugees are likely to stay longer than expected means that no country can face the challenge alone. 

A political solution is needed to help refugees return to their homes in safety and dignity, with the help and support of the international community, the minister said. 

Judeh highlighted Jordan’s efforts, which he said led the UN General Assembly to issue the resolution on dealing with refugee movements, noting that the Kingdom has the third largest refugee population per capita. 

The Kingdom hosts around 1.3 million Syrians and provides them with education, health services, energy and water, the minister said, adding that donors must follow through on the pledges made at the London conference in February.  

Judeh also took part in the annual meeting for the ministerial council of the Arab League, held in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings and headed by Tunisia, Petra reported. 

During the meeting, the foreign minister reiterated the importance of reviving the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations on the basis of the two-state solution, to eventually lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines, and with East Jerusalem as its capital.