Pakistan calls for urgent action to deal with forced migration

Dr Maleeha Lodhi says half of the world’s refugees are children

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and President of UNICEF's Executive Board Dr Maleeha Lodhi has urged the global community to take immediate action to deal with the growing crisis of forced migration, Radio Pakistan reported.

Pointing out that half of the world’s refugees are children, Lodhi made an impassioned appeal to the world community to fulfill its responsibilities in addressing the desperate situation where children were principal victims.

Lodhi was addressing the second regular session of the UNICEF's Executive Board in New York.

While describing the global refugee crisis as a humanitarian catastrophe in which the suffering of children was unprecedented, Lodhi said that the post-2015 agenda of the UN seeks to end extreme poverty, promote prosperity and well-being for the people, besides protecting environment for ourselves and future generations.

Read: Top UN official urges 'global response' to migration crisis

Earlier on Tuesday, the United Nations’ top official in charge of migration said that the crisis rocking Europe needs a “global response”, insisting that countries worldwide must be asked to do their share.

“We should have a European response as part of a global response,” UN Special Representative for Migration and Development Peter Sutherland told reporters in Geneva, hinting at the need for an international conference.

Read: UNHCR plans for 450,000 Mediterranean refugees in 2016

The UN refugee agency expects the number of refugees fleeing across the Mediterranean to Europe to hit 400,000 this year and could be 450,000 or more in 2016, it said in a preliminary emergency appeal document published on Tuesday.

“In 2015, UNHCR anticipates that approximately 400,000 new arrivals will seek international protection in Europe via the Mediterranean. In 2016 this number could reach 450,000 or more,” it said, adding that over 366,000 had already arrived in 2015.