Ambassador Duong Chi Dung, head of the Vietnamese Mission to the UN in Geneva (Source: VNA)

Addressing the first Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday and Thursday, Ambassador Dung said Vietnam pledged to actively and responsibly participate in activities of the forum, especially when the country undertakes the role as the ASEAN chairmanship in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure.

To address issues related to refugees, countries need to work harder to promote peace and stability, well perform solutions to boost poverty reduction and sustainable economic growth, prevent conflicts and enhance dialogues as well, the ambassador stressed. The international community should promote the practical implementation of burden- and responsibility-sharing mechanisms, and deploy the GCR voluntarily, depending on capability and conditions of each country, he said.

Mr. Dung added that the granting of refugee status should ensure transparency and clearly distinguish refugees and illegal migrants for economic purposes, especially in the context of increasing non-traditional security challenges.

According to statistics from the UNHCR, about 71 million people around the world have been forced to leave their homes and there are nearly 25.9 million refugees. Vietnam joined the GCR in December 2018 along with 180 nations