UN General Assembly
2016

The migration and refugee crises are at the heart of our debate these days, both here and back home. People around the world are on the move in unprecedented numbers. Some 65 million have been forcibly displaced in the last year. At the summit on Monday, we made an important collective statement that should shape our policies — migration should be a choice, not a necessity. The United Nations is the place to address the drivers of forced displacement. Our second challenge to frame migration as a positive force. Migrants contribute to diversity and global wealth. They bring fresh skills and dynamism to their host countries. If they are integrated successfully, they enrich societies. A positive narrative on migration is not difficult to present. The facts speak for themselves, but many of us lack the ability — and often the courage — to speak truthfully about the facts. Exploiting fears in a search for short-term political gains is cynical. It is an unproductive game. We must do better than that.