Progress on refugees is ‘real’ but ‘insufficient’, says Swiss foreign minister

Refugees: Cassis considers the progress made to be "real" but "insufficient". Keystone-SDA

The progress made thanks to the Global Compact for Refugees is real, but insufficient and unevenly spread, says Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.

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At the start of a follow-up meeting in Geneva on Monday, Cassis called for more aid to be given to people rather than to structures.

He told thousands of participants that “bureaucracy must be reduced” and “the role of local players must be strengthened”. For the international community, the objective must be to eventually achieve economic emancipation for the refugees, he said.

Cassis paid a warm tribute to the “tireless commitment” of the Italian Filippo Grandi, who will be stepping down at the end of December after ten years at the head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He also pledged his support for his successor, former Iraqi President Barham Saleh.

+ Geneva-based UNHCR marks 75 years amid deepening funding crisis

Since 2019, more than 3,400 pledges have been made as part of the Global Compact. Two-thirds of these pledges have been fulfilled or started.

Adapted from French by AI/ts

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