Both the United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants on Monday and the US Leaders’ Summit on Refugees on Tuesday were dominated by the massive challenges posed by rising refugee numbers around the world. In the wake of the Supporting Syria and the Region conference held in London in February and the World Humanitarian Summit held in Istanbul at the end of May, all donor countries were called on in New York to meet their global responsibility and increase their pledges of aid.

UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants

At the summit, hosted by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, participating states once again reaffirmed their commitments under international law to protect refugees and migrants. In an attempt to mobilise more countries to help, Federal Development Minister Gerd Müller appealed to the international community on Monday to demonstrate greater solidarity in order to master the refugee crisis. In his speech he stressed, "More countries must take in refugees. And more countries must provide financial support."

Gerd Müller proposed that a UN refugee fund be put in place, to put international responsibility for refugee policy on an equitable footing, and ensure better preventive work. "We need fair global burden-sharing in the field of refugee policy," he stressed. Migration and refugee movements will be a task facing an entire generation. The international community can only offer every individual a genuine chance if we all pull together, he added.

US Leaders’ Summit on Refugees

At Tuesday’s Leaders’ Summit on Refugees, the demands of the UN summit on Monday were translated into more detail. The 52 participating states agreed to increase the funding they provide this year by 4.5 billion US dollars over the 2015 sum. They also agreed to expand the number of reception places open to refugees through resettlement and other channels to a total of 360,000 this year, thus almost doubling last year’s figure.

In addition, participants resolved to facilitate access to education for one million refugee children and to improve employment opportunities for one million refugees. In his closing speech, President Barack Obama singled out Chancellor Angela Merkel, who he thanked for Germany’s contribution to resolving the refugee situation. Sometimes, he stressed, political decisions are difficult, but they are nevertheless the right decisions.

The summit, for which invitations were issued by President Barack Obama, was co-hosted by Germany, Sweden, Canada, Mexico, Ethiopia, Jordan and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had earlier appealed to the international community to meet its moral and political commitments to take in more refugees and increase the aid they provide. He stressed that no country should be left to face these enormous challenges on its own. The entire international community must accept more responsibility and help improve the situation of refugees around the globe.

Side event on health emergency management

On Monday evening Federal Development Minister Gerd Müller attended the high-ranking event Global Preparedness for and Response to Health Crises, within the framework of the UN General Assembly. In his speech he underscored the need to be prepared for future health emergencies. As the world’s third largest bilateral donor, Germany will continue to shoulder political and financial responsibility for global health, as laid out in the 6-point plan which the Chancellor drew up at the start of 2015 in response to the Ebola crisis.

Germany is already involved in implementing reforms in the management of global health emergencies, including the financing of the newly established UN Global Health Crisis Task Force. Germany is shouldering one third of the annual costs of the task force. Germany also supports the World Health Organization’s Contingency Fund for Emergencies and the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility created by the World Bank, in order to ensure swift financial assistance in response to crises.

As Federal Development Minister Gerd Müller stressed, Germany is working with the WHO and other countries on a road map entitled Healthy Systems - Healthy Lives, which aims to strengthen the health systems in countries.

OECD report praises Germany

Within the framework of the UN General Assembly, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published its annual International Migration Outlook on Monday in New York. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría made special mention of the huge efforts made by Germany to take in refugees. He also saw the integration measures taken by the German government for asylum-seekers with good chances of being entitled to stay in the country as positive.