Two aspects of the European migration agenda are intransigence for the EU's border security, and generosity in humanitarian aid and development assistance for refugees and their host communities. These were the watchwords used by the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, at the opening of the UN summit on mass flows of refugees and migrants, which ended in New York on Tuesday 20 September with a declaration.
Tusk welcomed this UN initiative in favour of burden sharing in the management of global migration, as "no other global problem is more urgent today than the ongoing migration of millions of people". More than 65 million people are indeed victims of forced displacement throughout the world, be they be refugees or asylum seekers. On Monday, Tusk stated that "the United Nations still needs to strengthen its tools and find the money to deal with the humanitarian needs and other problems triggered by this unprecedented wave of migration".
He also warned that "the European Union has a clear objective to restore order on its external borders. As a result, this will lead to the further reduction of the irregular flows to the EU. There will be no repeat of the year 2015 with more than one and a half million irregular migrants. At the same time, we are ready to increase humanitarian and development assistance for refugees, internally displaced persons and host communities". He said that there was "unity" between the member states on these two priorities, "which was confirmed by our meeting in Bratislava three days ago" (see EUROPE 11627 et 11626).
Management of the Syrian refugee crisis remains a priority, Tusk stated, also announcing that in addition to the €6.8 billion in humanitarian aid already provided by the EU and its member states, the EU was currently finalising the "pacts" with Jordan and Lebanon, "with an aim to provide an appropriate and safe environment for refugees and displaced persons from Syria, in exchange for additional EU funds". He also mentioned the "new partnership agreements with African countries". These include the famous partnership frameworks on migration with key countries of origin and transit for migrants, based on financial aid in return for migration management cooperation (see EUROPE 11567).
The high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Federica Mogherini, also took part in the roundtable in New York on a global pact on regular migration. She highlighted the need for global level cooperation to explore the opportunities provided by human mobility and "win-win" solutions on which to agree as part of the partnerships with third countries (see EUROPE 11566).
NGOs say promise has not been kept. The participants at the UN summit were supposed to draw up a global compact on Responsibility Sharing for Refugees and a global compact for Safe, Regular and Orderly Migration, which the NGO World Vision says was not done. The New York declaration reaffirms support for the existing frameworks, including the 1951 Convention on Refugees, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and contains as an annex "the framework for a comprehensive response to the refugee question". Among other frustrations, World Vision is not happy because although the participants say they support protection for children, children's rights, refugees' access to education and the labour market, "the declaration does not mention adequate reception and support for non-accompanied and separated children". (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)