On September 19, 2016, the UN General Assembly held the first ever UN High Level Meeting to Address Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants. Civil society organizations wrote a response and scorecard for the Summit’s outcome document called the “New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants.”
"Forced displacement has reached unprecedented levels, with more than 65 million people uprooted from their homes globally. New and recurring conflicts, and ever-more disturbing forms of violence and persecution, are driving people to flee in search of safety within their own countries, or to cross international borders as asylum seekers or refugees..."
When I was asked which UN international day between October and Christmas I would like to research, I was quickly drawn to International Migrants Day. The reason is obvious: during the last few months the largest flow of refugees and migrants since World War II is underway in Europe, people fleeing war, poverty and hunger.
