Vietnam highly valued the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)’s key role in building and implementing the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), said Ambassador Duong Chi Dung.

Ambassador Duong Chi Dung, head of the Vietnamese Mission to the UN in Geneva
(Source: VNA)

Addressing the first Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 17 and 18, Dung said the event would be an effective mechanism to help the UN, its member nations and stakeholders to monitor the implementation of the GCR.  

Vietnam pledged to actively and responsibly participate in activities of the forum, especially when the country undertakes the role as the ASEAN chairmanship in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure, he said.

To address issues related to refugees, countries need to work harder to promote peace and stability, well perform solutions to boost poverty reduction and sustainable economic growth, prevent conflicts and enhance dialogues as well, the ambassador stressed.

The international community should promote the practical implementation of burden- and responsibility-sharing mechanisms, and deploy the GCR voluntarily, depending on capability and conditions of each country, he said.

Dung added that the granting of refugee status should ensure transparency and clearly distinguish refugees and illegal migrants for economic purposes, especially in the context of increasing non-traditional security challenges.

Jointly hosted by the UNHCR and Switzerland, and co-chaired by Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Germany, Pakistan and Turkey, the forum brought together 3,000 delegates from governments, international and civil social originations and enterprises, and refugees.

The participants focused their discussions on key areas including burden- and responsibility-sharing; education; employment and livelihoods; energy and infrastructure, and solutions; and capacity to protect refugees.

They also proposed initiatives and shared practical experiences to support and protect refugees.

In his speech, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres affirmed that the forum was an opportunity to promote the implementation of the GCR. He called on involved parties to make strong and concrete commitments, and enhance international cooperation and solidarity to deal with the problem.

According to statistics from the UNHCR, about 71 million people around the world have been forced to leave their homes and there are nearly 25.9 million refugees.

Vietnam joined the GCR in December 2018 along with 180 nations.