Cross-cutting
Migration and refugees at UNGA 81
Raised by 63 of 223 speakers. Read verbatim UN transcript quotes and select a time to hear the speech.
Speeches that raised migration and refugees
South Sudan · Day 6Cecilia Adout Majok AdengIt was shaped by more than half of a century of struggle, sacrifices, displacement, and unwavering desire for freedom and self-determination.
They assisted displaced communities, they mediated disputes, and kept alive the belief that reconciliation was possible.
Refugees and internally displaced persons must not be left out.
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United States of America · Day 1Donald TrumpTwo years ago, our country was dead.
And now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world.
Before I took office, we had the worst and most dangerous border on Earth.
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Fiji · Day 3Ratu Naiqama Tawakecolati LalabalavuThey pay for school fees, rebuild homes after lots of cyclones, and sustain families between harvests.
Your Excellencies, they are not aid.
They are the earnings of Fijians abroad and sent home.
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Belgium · Day 1Maxime PrévotPeople have always moved, and they will continue to do so.
And governments have a duty to manage that movement and to ensure that migration takes place safely, regularly, and in accordance with the law.
Order is itself a matter of human rights.
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Panama · Day 2José Raúl Mulino QuinteroSince 2021, this organization has been working on recommendations and calling out illegal migration across the Darien and established a basis of humanitarian aid.
and looked like more of a concentration camp in the midst of the 21st century.
However, in practical terms, the transit of people increased in 2022 and even more in 2023 and in the first six months of 2024.
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Haiti · Day 4Alix Didier Fils-AiméWe need to be the masters of technology and never its subjects, and no people should ever be left behind.
We also need to keep the promise of a world where no one is condemned to suffer hunger, to be deprived of care, or to be displaced by war, or to fall victim to exclusion or discrimination.
This same requirement for dignity needs to guide our approach to migrations as well, because behind statistics and debates, there are women, children, and men who carry with them a history, talents, hopes, and sometimes the burden of exile.
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Chile · Day 1José Antonio Kastour borders are under better control.
We have our border shield plan and that has made it possible to induce irregular entry by 86% and we have deported 50% more people than we did last year.
People do not come in through the window; they come in through their ports with all their documents in order.
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Syrian Arab Republic · Day 2Ahmad Al-SharaaWe have seen an increase in agriculture production to ensure self-sufficiency.
We also enhance the service sector the housing sector have been focused on, we recovered.
3.5 million refugees and IDPs have returned in a safe and decent way.
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Hungary · Day 3András Bálint BakaMany countries represented here opened their doors to Hungarians who fled their country after the revolution.
We remember both the cost of losing our independence and the help that allowed our people to start again.
Today, Ukraine is fighting to preserve its independence.
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North Macedonia · Day 4Hristijan MickoskiMore than 100 million people have been displaced by force.
More than 270 million children and young people are not in the school.
This is the paradox of our time.
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Bhutan · Day 1Tshering TobgayBut our economy is small.
It cannot yet create enough opportunities for our young people.
So too many of them leave home to find opportunity elsewhere.
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Croatia · Day 1Andrej PlenkovićIt strengthens Europe's sovereignty and capacity to act, reduces external dependence, creates economic opportunity, and makes our societies more resilient.
The same principle applies to illegal migration, which has caused mistrust in Europe and altered the political landscape in many countries.
This situation is unacceptable and it cannot continue.
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Burundi · Day 2Évariste NdayishimiyeIn closing, I would like to raise the question of youth, the most precious asset on which the entire international community can and must rely.
I speak today not only as a committed friend of young people, but also on the basis of a clear observation.
Our intellectual youth has become the target of sustained, deliberate, and organized pursuit by most of the wealthiest nations, even though our youth's first calling should be to serve their parents, their loved ones, and their homeland, who have invested so much in their education.
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Central African Republic · Day 2Faustin Archange TouaderaThe same is true for women whose role in peacebuilding is not a bonus, but a prerequisite.
Mr. President, my country, like so many others, is experiencing the impact of crises surrounding it, from refugee movements to pressure on our borders.
The war in neighboring Sudan has pushed more than 27,000 refugees to settle around the city of Burao alone.
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Italy · Day 2Antonio TajaniIt is not aid handed down from above, but a partnership among equals in agriculture and energy, education and training, infrastructure, and in the pharmaceutical sector.
Producing vaccines in Africa saves lives, strengthens health systems, creates jobs, and supports growth capable of generating stability.
It is in this spirit and in defense of the right not to be forced to migrate that we fight against human traffickers who prey on poverty.
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Gambia (Republic of The) · Day 3Mohammed JallowSometimes it can change the course of a nation.
That experience also gives us an obligation.
If the international community could stand with the Gambia at a moment of fragility, then countries facing similar moments should be able to count on the same solidarity.
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Bangladesh · Day 3Tarique RahmanIn many countries around the world, migrants make important contributions to the economies of both their countries of origin and their countries of destination.
The government of Bangladesh is committed to ensuring regular, safe, and orderly migration.
Bangladesh expects stronger global cooperation to ensure the rights, dignity, and well-being of migrants.
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Greece · Day 3Kyriakos MitsotakisWe praise all reunification efforts.
A stable Libya, free from foreign interference, would benefit not only the Libyan people, but our entire region.
And Greece is ready to support Libyan institutions in border protection, in migration management.
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Lesotho · Day 4Samuel Ntsokoane MatekaneWe therefore call for enhanced cooperation in technology sharing, capacity building, and sustainable health financing to build resilient health systems capable of responding to current and emerging challenges.
Mr. President, migration is not an abstract concept for the people of Lesotho.
It is a daily lift reality.
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Tuvalu · Day 4Feleti TeoMr. President, in the Pacific, Pacific leaders have adopted the Pacific Resilience Facility, a regional financing mechanism to help our communities respond effectively to the growing impact of climate change.
To value calls on the international community and our development partners to support the full capitalization of the Pacific Resilience Facility to enable Pacific-led and Pacific own solutions to build resilience where it matters most.
Mr. President, adaptation and building resilience against the impact of climate change will reduce the severity of climate change, but will not eliminate all consequences of climate change.
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Mauritania · Day 4Mohamed Salem MerzougPeople's mobility strives for a better future, better job opportunities, better development.
However, the high influx of migration and their complexity reveals the reality that should be analyzed without any exaggerations.
and it should also preserve the unity of societies.
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Micronesia (Federated States of) · Day 5Aren PalikMr. President, our people are the most important and most valuable national resource.
We remain committed to delivering effective public services and advancing Micronesia priorities for our citizens, wherever they reside.
I am pleased to announce the adoption of Micronesia's National Migration Policy with the technical support of the International Organization for Migration.
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Philippines · Day 5Ma. Theresa Lazaroput a face to the tireless migrant workers and seafarers who keep the global community afloat.
Millions of migrant workers leave their homes to search for a better life, contributing immeasurably to the sustainable development of countries of origin, transit and destination.
They are committed to full human rights, and fundamental freedoms regardless of status and deserve steadfast protection from trafficking and exploitation along perilous migration routes.
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Iceland · Day 5Thorgerdur Katrín GunnarsdóttirThe freedoms codified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea are not optional, not at all.
And for an island nation dependent on open maritime routes, freedom of navigation is fundamental.
Madam President, 75 years after the 1951 Refugee Convention, we should have hoped that the need for it would be diminishing.
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Tunisia · Day 5Mohamed Ali NaftiGuided by its firm belief in the importance of investing in people, Tunisia once again calls for a comprehensive and balanced approach to migration that takes into account its human and historical dimensions and moves beyond a narrow security perspective while addressing its root causes, foremost among them conflict, poverty, economic and social disparities.
lack of employment opportunities and development, and the proliferation of human trafficking networks.
Such an approach would embody shared responsibility, solidarity, and cooperation among countries of origin, transit, and destination.
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Djibouti · Day 5Abdoulkader Houssein OmarDjibouti is following the situation in Yemen with grave concern.
We are indeed directly experiencing its effects with the recent arrival in our territory of several thousand people fleeing the violence.
This situation is already placing considerable pressure on host communities in the Obock region, as well as on the reception capacity of the Markazai site.
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Sierra Leone · Day 1Julius Maada BioProcessing at source, fair value chains, technology transfer, and local industry would turn natural wealth into skilled work, stronger economies, and hope for our young people.
The green transition must not reproduce the extractive time of the past.
For the youth, this is immediate.
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Latvia · Day 2Edgars RinkēvičsGuarding the eastern border of NATO and the European Union, Latvia faces these threats every day.
Illegal migrants are deliberately exploited and pushed towards our border with Belarus.
Cyber attacks target our critical networks.
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Romania · Day 2Nicuşor-Daniel DanRomania will stand with Ukraine and its people.
as they exercise their legitimate right to self-defense for as long as necessary.
Moreover, Romania is acting responsibly to stabilize the region.
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Argentina · Day 2Javier Gerardo MileiThere you will find a vast land of fertile fields, oil, minerals, and human talent.
a land that has welcomed millions who crossed oceans in the hope that their children would live better lives than they had, and who built one of the most prosperous nations on earth.
We have a responsibility to live up to that legacy.
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Estonia · Day 2Alar KarisWe also see instrumentalization of migration as a means of exerting pressure on countries, whether on the European Union, Eastern and Southern borders or elsewhere.
Irregular migration is increasingly becoming a security issue.
and it requires a coordinated international response.
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Libya · Day 2Mohamed Younis MenfiWe view the security and stability of the states of the region and all our African neighbors near and far, together with developing Africa, all as investment in the common security of Africa and its European neighborhood.
This is not assistance provided by one party to another, nor is it a responsibility borne by one party alone.
Likewise, we view the Mediterranean basin not as a barrier between Africa and Europe, but as a shared space for connection.
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Cyprus · Day 2Nikos ChristodoulidesCyprus has also played a constructive role in times of emergency.
When third country nationals needed to be evacuated from our neighborhood, My country has served time and time again as a safe harbor.
Our infrastructure and our resources have been made available in order to facilitate safe passage for people in danger.
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Poland · Day 2Karol Nawrockias well as other related challenges such as illegal migration, which often takes the form of human trafficking.
However, an answer to demographic challenges cannot be illegal migration in itself, for it breeds misery, tensions and unrest.
This is not the way forward.
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Montenegro · Day 2Jakov MilatovićMore than 240,000 lives lost to organized violence, the deadliest toll in three decades.
About 120 million people driven from their homes, roughly one in 70.
So, are we leaving a better world to the generations after us?
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Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) · Day 2Delcy Eloína Rodríguez GómezI wish to say the following to my young people, people that have grown up in a fractured country and which often decided to leave in search of what they couldn't find in our country.
I wish to say to them that it is worth believing in the country once more.
It is the time to rebuild the country that many wish to return to.
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Spain · Day 2Pedro Sánchez Pérez-CastejónWe have refused to increase our military spending to 5% of GDP, and we've done everything possible to avoid aggressions that run counter to the UN Charter, placing sanctions on the Russian aggressors, imposing an arms embargo on the Netanyahu government in Israel, and prohibiting the use of our territory to deploy an aggression that was against international law, and unequivocally condemning the genocide that Netanyahu is still perpetrating in Gaza.
We have also mobilised resources to do more.
In the face of the chainsaws that have cut close to a third of world development aid in just two years, Spain has doubled its investment in cooperation and has increased its contribution to the multilateral system by 60%.
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Democratic Republic of the Congo · Day 2Judith Suminwa TulukaMr. Presidents, this need for resilience does not stop at the boundaries of health.
It is also vital when it comes to climate disruptions, whose effects are already putting our societies under growing pressure.
Flooding, droughts, and erosion, not to mention population displacement, are threatening our stability.
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Palestine (State of) · Day 3Mahmoud AbbasWe call upon all States and international and regional organizations to continue supporting the work of UNRWA, for which there is no substitute, so long as the refugee issue remains unresolved.
This requires the continued financial support and political backing, as well as an end to these attacks against UNRWA.
We particularly warn also against the implementation of the E1 settlement plan.
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Comoros · Day 3Azali AssoumaniWe strongly condemn initiatives of cooperation with the local authorities of Mayotte, as well as a recent statement by the French Prime Minister linking development assistance to the pursuit of migrants.
Under General Assembly resolution 3385 of 12 November 1975 and 31/4 of 21 November 1976, and Security Council Resolution 376, Comorians are at home in Mayotte.
For the Comorian nation, sovereignty of the entire archipelago is not for sale.
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Equatorial Guinea · Day 3Teodoro Nguema Obiang MangueTherefore, 21st century cooperation should provide opportunities for the mobilization of financing to transform raw materials and to develop one's own knowledge and technologies.
Excellencies, this vision is especially relevant for Africa, which needs investments that can allow it to develop local value chains, build infrastructure, advance industrialization, strengthen human capital, incorporate new technologies, and generate employment, especially for the continent's large youth population.
A more productive and industrialized Africa will be a stronger partner to the benefit of all of those wanting to halt its immigration.
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Barbados · Day 3Mia Amor MottleyBarbadian novelist and essayist George Laming once described the Caribbean as perhaps the first global experiment in human history.
Bringing together and I quote every branch of the human family.
From the indigenous peoples of the Americas to the diverse peoples from Africa, Europe, and Asia.
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Thailand · Day 3Anutin CharnvirakulToday, we are giving displaced persons from Myanmar, who have lived in temporary shelters in Thailand for decades, greater opportunities to work and support their families.
For the Rohingya transiting in Thailand, we have adopted a community-based alternative to immigration detention for Rohingya children to better protect their rights and access to services.
Our responsibility as a neighbor also means addressing the challenges in our own neighborhood.
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Georgia · Day 3Irakli KobakhidzheTwenty percent of our country remains under the occupation of the Russian Federation, while hundreds of thousands of our citizens continue to live in displacement, unable to return to their homes.
While restoring trust is a major theme of this year's session, I would like to address our Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers and sisters.
We have shared a homeland and a history for centuries.
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South Africa · Day 3Ronald Ozzy LamolaWe are determined to confront racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and all forms of intolerance through our Constitution, our laws and our institutions.
Dealing with the root causes and challenges of irregular migration is a shared responsibility of all countries of the world.
We approach our leadership of a regional bloc that is home to a quarter of Africa's population, the Southern African Development Community, with a firm resolve to champion greater regional integration, industrialization, and trade.
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Bahamas (the) · Day 4Philip Edward DavisPeople who lose their homes do not disappear.
They move and they arrive at someone's border.
Prevention costs less than rebuilding or relocating.
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Chad · Day 4Abdelmadjid Abdelrahim MahamatThrough its constant vision for years now, Chad has remained one of the main African contributors of troops to peacekeeping operations throughout the world.
Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, This solidarity that we project outwards is something we also experience every day within our own borders.
Since April 2023, more than a million Sudanese refugees have crossed our eastern border, fleeing a bloody conflict.
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Republic of Moldova · Day 5Vasile TofanMoldova could not choose that this war began next to us, but we could choose our response.
We welcomed people fleeing the war.
We kept transport routes open.
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Holy See · Day 5Cardinal Pietro ParolinParticular attention must to be paid to those categories of persons most at risk, those in the womb, the elderly, the disabled, the sick, refugees and migrants, the unemployed, the marginalized, the lonely, and those living under condition of extreme poverty, violence, or conflict.
Among these fundamental rights, religious freedom occupies a privileged place.
It is not a secondary liberty, but an essential dimension of the human person.
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Belarus · Day 5Maxim RyzhenkovWe see this everywhere.
The air is thick with anxiety from Europe to the Middle East, from Asia to Africa and Latin America.
Wars and conflicts are engulfing the world.
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Sao Tome and Principe · Day 5Ilza Maria dos Santos Amado VazIn a nation of our size, every talent counts, and every young person is an indispensable force for national progress.
Likewise, the Santomean diaspora is an essential part of our human wealth and a strategic partner of the country.
We will continue to strengthen its ties with Santomean Principi and to create the conditions for an even greater contribution to investment, entrepreneurship, knowledge, transfer, and national life.
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Cameroon · Day 5Lejeune Mbella MbellaWe should underline that the authorities of Cameroon have continued to multiply and consolidate these results.
And I can assure you of Cameroon's constant commitment to solidarity with displaced populations, refugees, and host communities, despite the multitude of limitations that affect these situations.
Mr. President, in a world that is increasingly unstable, We have the duty to do everything possible to create conditions that favor peace, security, and stability of our international political environment in order to ensure well-being for everyone.
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Mali · Day 6Abdoulaye DiopOn the issue of international migration, Mali, which is a country of origin, transit and destination at the same time.
Mali therefore reaffirms its attachment to international cooperation and considers human mobility is a benefit for humanity.
It is important in this room to say it, to repeat it, that for us, human mobility is not a threat.
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- Chad · Day 6
We also wish to reaffirm that our territory has never been used, nor has our infrastructure been used by any of the parties to the conflict.
Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, Chad has itself been the victim of the war in Sudan, as we're feeling the brunt of the consequences, both humanitarian, socioeconomic, but also security consequences.
Since April of 2023, over one and a half million Sudanese refugees crossed our eastern border.
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