Long-term solution to refugee problem

Ambassador Anh made the statement at the UN Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs Committee (Third Committee)’s general debate on a report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on issues related to refugees, returners, displaced people and humanitarian issues on November 1.

Refugees need assistance in obtaining legal status, Anh said, affirming that countries have a shared responsibility in support of refugees through funding and humanitarian assistance, among other things.

She stressed that women and children are the most vulnerable groups among refugees and they can easily become victims of human trafficking.

In 2016, half of all refugees under the mandate of UNHCR were children, she noted.

The commitments under the New York Declaration on migrants and refugees should be transformed into action, while the international community should protect the vulnerable groups and provide them with food, medicine, water and accommodation.

Vietnam pledges to maintain its international cooperation in solving refugee-related challenges, the diplomat stated.

According to High Commissioner Filippo Grandi, 68 million people and counting were refugees.

A draft of the global compact would be shared in early 2018, he said, around which there will be consultations in Geneva with Member States. The promise of the New York Declaration must be translated into determined, collective action in order to find solutions for millions of uprooted people around the world.