Credit: World Future Council
On Monday, 19 September, for the first time in the history of the United Nations, Heads of States and Governments will address the large movements of refugees and migrants at a high-level summit during the General Assembly. The milestone event aims to strengthen governance of international migration and create a more humane and coordinated system.
More than 21 million people were forced to leave their countries in 2015, over half of whom are under the age of 18. In just five years, the number of child refugees has risen by 77 per cent, while the proportion of women refugees reached 47% in 2015.
María Fernanda Espinosa, Ambassador of Ecuador to the United Nations in Geneva and Co-Chair of the Ending Violence against Women and Girls Commission, World Future Council, says: “Refugee women and children face various security risks at every stage of their journey. They are still not sufficiently protected and often do not even find adequate support, such as psychosocial assistance, in their destination countries. We therefore call on world leaders to tackle this serious challenge and take effective and binding measures to ensure the safety of refugee women and children.”
In an appeal to the governments and institutions of the world published in March 2016, the World Future Council called for rigorous measures to protect refugee women and children from violence. The WFC is currently putting together a report on best practices to protect refugee women and children against violence to promote existing and proven practices. The report is expected to be published at the end of the year.
Thanks to the World Future Council for this post. For more information, visit the WFC website. Contact your president or prime minister today and ask him or her to do everything possible to protect the lives of refugees, especially the lives of women and children.
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