UNHCR : *HUMANITY'S TRAGIC HEMMINGS*

GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS needs greater world commitment :

UNITED NATIONS : Opening the debate, Pilippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that uprooted by war, today 68.5 million refugees are often branded as threats' turned back at borders, left to perish at sea, or detained indefinitely in horrific conditions...........

And called for a return to to dignity, human rights and a sense of shared humanity.

The language of politics has become ruthless, giving license to discrimination, racism and xenophobia, he said.

Humanity is loosing ground to trends that dehumanize refugees and migrants for the purpose of immediate political gain.

More often, Grandi said refugees and migrants fall prey to traffickers and smugglers, giving rise to complex security challenges.

As migrants leave Libya and cross the Mediterranean, rescue at sea operations are taken hostage by politics. They must be restored underpinned by a  predictable disembarkation arrangement based on shared responsibility.across the region.

Indeed, common purpose and multi-literalism are critical to the search for solutions, he said.

UNHCR's capacity to adapt to new dynamics is critical to its ability to leverage protection in displacement crises. [AFP]