UNICEF hails New York Declaration on refugees, migrants

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Monday welcomed the just adopted New York Declaration as "a first step in addressing the unprecedented level of human mobility the world is facing."

A statement, issued here by UNICEF, said, "The declaration outlines a more comprehensive, predictable and sustainable response to forced displacement, and a system of governance for international migration."

Its emphasis on the need for Member States to comply with their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child is a crucial step toward securing the rights of all children on the move, the statement said.

"The Declaration underscores the acute risks faced by refugee and migrant children, particularly those traveling on their own, and the need to provide them with specialized protection," the statement noted. "It includes, crucially, a commitment to making sure they can quickly go back to school once they have reached their destination countries, and outlines measures to keep families together and counter xenophobia."

Over the next two years, UNICEF will work with Member States, United Nations partners, civil society, and children, to spell out specific and measurable actions to protect all children uprooted from their homes,the statement said.

Meanwhile, UNICEF called on the international community to focus on six specific actions to help displaced, refugee and migrant children:

-- Protect child refugees and migrants, particularly unaccompanied children, from exploitation and violence.

-- End the detention of children seeking refugee status or migrating by introducing a range of practical alternatives.

-- Keep families together as the best way to protect children and give children legal status.

-- Keep refugee and migrant children learning and giving them access to health and other quality services.

-- Press for action on the underlying causes of large-scale movements of refugees and migrants.

-- Promote measures to combat xenophobia, discrimination and marginalization.

At the UN General Assembly's first-ever high-level meeting on refugees and migrants, world leaders on Monday adopted the New York Declaration, which expresses their political will to protect the rights of refugees and migrants, to save lives and share responsibility for large movements on a global scale.

The meeting was held against a backdrop that more people are forced to flee their homes than at any time since World War II.