President of the Republic Sergio
Mattarella on Tuesday called on Italians to not ignore the
plight of people forced to flee their homes in search of safety
from violence and abuse.
"Approximately 100 million men, women and children, in all
continents, are forced to leave their homes to find protection
against persecution, abuse, violence," said Mattarella in a
message for World Refugee Day.
"A sense of humanity and respect for the highest values
enshrined in the Republican Constitution require that we do not
ignore their plight," he added.
"In celebrating World Refugee Day today, it is appropriate to
reiterate that initiatives to assist these people - and in
particular refugees in particularly vulnerable conditions - must
be accompanied by the search for an indispensable and urgent
long-term structural solution" to forced migration that
addresses "the root causes that drive such large numbers of
needy human beings to leave their countries" continued
Mattarella.
"They deserve alternative opportunities to the risky journeys
that circumstances drive them to undertake even in prohibitive
conditions," said the president.
"Italy has always been at the forefront in fulfilling its high
duty of solidarity, assistance and reception, in accordance with
the Constitution, for those who are prevented from effectively
exercising their rights and democratic freedoms in their own
country," he continued, thanking UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
mandated to protect people forced to flee and stateless people,
and "all the various State administrations and all the
international protection and reception workers who, with great
professionalism and a profound humanitarian spirit, work daily
to alleviate the suffering of refugees and guarantee them access
to essential services".
By the end of 2022, the number of people forcibly displaced
inside or outside their country by war, persecution, violence
and human rights abuses stood at a record 108.4 million, up 19.1
million on the previous year, according to the annual Global
Trends report published by UNHCR in June.
Nor did the upward trajectory in global forced displacement show
any sign of slowing in 2023 as the outbreak of conflict in Sudan
triggered new forced migration movements, pushing the global
total to an estimated 110 million by May, according to the
report.
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