U.N. chief urges ‘rich’ countries in West to settle 500,000 Syrian refugees

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on all countries on Wednesday to accept nearly half a million Syrian refugees for resettlement over the next three years. Ban, kicking off a ministerial conference hosted by the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR in Geneva, said: “This demands an exponential increase in global solidarity." The United Nations is aiming to re-settle some 480,000 refugees, about 10% of those now in neighbouring countries, by the end of 2018, but has conceded it needs to overcome widespread fear and political wrangling.

We must find a way to manage this crisis in a more humane, equitable and organised manner. It is only possible if the international community is united and in agreement on how to move forward.

Filippo Grandi, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees

The five-year conflict has killed at least 250,000 people and driven nearly 5 million refugees abroad, mostly to neighboring Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. The European Union sealed a deal this month with Turkey, which hosts 2.7 million Syrian refugees, that is intended to halt illegal migration flows to Europe in return for financial and political rewards for Ankara. Figures released by the Greek government today showed 766 people reached the islands of Lesbos, Samos, Chios and Kos in the 24 hours until Wednesday morning. The number is a roughly a three-fold jump compared with arrivals in previous days, when weather conditions had been poorer.

If Europe were to welcome the same percentage of refugees as Lebanon in comparison to its population, it would have to take in 100 million refugees.

Filippo Grandi

EU migrants