UN General Assembly
2017

When I visited the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa earlier this year, I discussed the importance of the international community’s ability to prevent conflicts. Conflicts do not exist without root causes and, by the same token, there are no conflicts that cannot be brought to an end. We should apply that approach first and foremost, though not exclusively, to issues related to mass migration and refugees, which represent problems that many regions and continents share. The continuing internal clashes and risks of terrorist attacks in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as all the challenges that they entail, call for a common response on the part of the whole international community. That is why it is our duty to eliminate the root causes of the refugee problem and restore the right of all people to live in their home countries.