The head of the UN's migration agency has urged "more solidarity and responsibility sharing" with countries, such as Turkey, that are currently hosting the most refugees, Eurasia Diary reports citing Anadolu Agency.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency via email, Antonio Vitorino, director general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), recalled that Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq host the vast majority of Syrian refugees.
“We acknowledge and thank Turkey and the other countries for the commitments they have made to support the needs of these people and IOM will continue to assist Turkey in its efforts.”
Vitorino, who was attending the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey from June18-20, also called on donor countries to “sustain the vital support they are providing” to refugees in Turkey and elsewhere in the world.
“That is why we have expressed to all parties our view that the EU-Turkey statement should be updated,” he said.
Touching upon the key lessons on “how to improve our collective response” to migration, he underlined the needs for “financial commitments from international community."
“We need more solidarity and responsibility sharing with countries hosting large numbers of refugees and migrants in need of support, which are themselves often developing countries.
“More efforts are needed to end protracted crises and ensure peace and security,” he told Anadolu Agency.
“There is a real need for more resettlement and durable solutions, and we must jointly advocate for an increase in numbers and pathways at the international level.”
Turkey currently hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees -- around 3.8 million.