Sharjah award makes refugee crisis more relatable: UN official
sharjah — At a time when an average of one person is forced to flee his home every two seconds, it has become everyone’s responsibility to support refugees. And Sharjah’s advocacy award has made the crisis ‘more relatable’, encouraging more people to support the cause, a top UN official has said.
Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said awards like the Sharjah International Award for Refugee Advocacy and Support (Siara) should be commended for putting a “human face” to the refugee crisis. Today, a ceremony will be held to honour this year’s Siara winner — the Lebanese non-profit organisation, Amel Association International.
Grandi said everyone has to be reminded that “refugees are people just like the rest of us, families and individuals who have dreams and ambitions, fears and hopes, who once had homes and loved ones that were lost due to violence and persecution”.
And the “most powerful way” to engage the public in the crisis is to share the refugees’ stories, as well as those of the people who support them, he said.
“The world we live in today faces unprecedented levels of forced displacement, greater than at any time since WWII, with the figures continuing to increase year after year. This grave situation calls for the international community to work to
Refugees are people just like the rest of us, families and individuals who have dreams and ambitions, fears and hopes, who once had homes and loved ones that were lost due to violence and persecution.” Filippo Grandi, United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees
gether to better understand and address the root causes of forced displacement,” Grandi said.
By June of 2018, 68.5 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced, according to the Global Trends Report published by UNHCR.
“Much more work is needed to ensure that the responsibility for supporting refugees is genuinely shared across the international community and does not fall disproportionately on the neighbouring countries that receive and host the vast majority.”
Tackling the crisis requires new efforts in conflict prevention and resolution; upholding
international humanitarian law; promotion of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; as well as poverty alleviation and development assistance, he said.
“While solutions are being found, we need to step up support for refugees and the communities hosting them through targeted humanitarian and development action.”