UN General Assembly
2016

A large part of the migration towards European countries is also economic. One cannot treat with contempt those who, for themselves or for their loved ones, often embark on a long and dangerous journey. We cannot fail to welcome them, but it is difficult to accommodate all of them. At stake, as we know very well today, is the acceptance of our opinions. Populism is being nourished by the feeling that matters are not under control. Some people profit from the confused situation by exploiting it for their own purposes. When I hear, as I did again this week, a political candidate say that a refugee may be a terrorist, I condemn such statements in the firmest possible terms. That is because a person who has left his country is a victim of terrorism, not a perpetrator.