Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addressed the 71st United Nations General Assembly focused on the movements of refugees and migrants. Taking the podium on Monday, he said that Europe faces the challenge of preserving social cohesion without violating international law and the Geneva convention.
“We must reinforce the borders and the asylum process but this must be done on the basis of solidarity and a division of responsibilities,” said Tsipras.
“The large movement of refugees and migrants is a global challenge that no state can face alone,” he said. “Either we will manage to face it collectively, comprehensively and on the basis of our values, or we will fail.” He added that Europe is facing the risk of betraying its values now that it is being shaken up in the biggest migratory movement noted since World War 2.
He pointed to Greeks as proof that the challenges can be met despite its own economic crisis. “We faced [the challenge] when 1.2 million migrants entered our country,” he said, pointing to the additional pressure that weighed on the country when northern borders were closed. “We face it as we try to support the nearly 60,000 migrants stranded in Greece, and the new ones coming.”
Greece currently deals with the fourth largest number of asylum applications in Europe and is making an effort to implement the difficult EU-Turkey agreement to stem the flow of refugees. The only way in which Greece can achieve its goals is through “shared responsibility and solidarity.”
He called on pledges made to Greece, such as the relocation program, to be kept and called for enhanced cooperation with Asian and African countries.
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