‘Finally, the world meets,’ Muscat tells UN humanitarian summit

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that the “for the first time in history the world met to discuss humanitarian crises.”

Addressing the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, a highly anticipated UN event in which politicians from 175 countries and campaigners from thousands of aid groups gathered in the nominal hope of reforming the aid system, Muscat reiterated that solidarity is not optional.

The summit’s goals include preventing and ending conflict; respecting the rules of war; leaving no one behind on the sustainable development agenda; working differently to end need, and investing in humanity.

While underlining Malta’s humanitarian vocation, Muscat said “solidarity is not ‘á la carte,’ which you call for when you need it but ignore when somebody else needs it.”

He claimed that although Malta was left to its own devices for years when it faced an “immigration crisis” it was now particiapting in the relocation progrramme of asylum seekers from Greece and Italy.

So far, 32 refugees have been relocated to Malta since EU countries last year agreed to relocate 160,000 people from Italy and Greece by 2017. Malta is accepting 131 asylum seekers under the agreement.

He added that Malta is participating in the programme because Malta could once agin find itself in need of help.

“No country should be left alone,” Muscat said, adding that he always emphasised that “migration is not a national or European problem, but a world problem.”

Pointing out the challenges posed by immigration, global warming and the displacement of people because of war, he said that the summit “is a good start,” to create a financial mechanism for humanitarian aid.