I thank the Deputy for those pertinent questions. To begin with, on the pact, I recall that on the first day that it was presented, our High Commissioner summed up our position quite well. He made it clear that of course, no product can be absolutely perfect. The second important thing he said is that any product - and in this case he was referring to the proposal for the pact - will require some concessions and give and take. Those are two important points. The third point that the High Commissioner made is that imperfections aside, the pact is very much needed. Many of the issues that I mentioned in my opening statement, not least, violent push-backs and so on, deaths at sea and unacceptable reception conditions, could be solved if there was an understanding among EU member states based on better border procedures and solidarity. Our hope is that progress on the pact will continue and will materialise in this coming presidency. Just to recap very quickly, we, as the UNHCR, have highlighted nine areas of particular importance when it comes to the pact. I will list them quickly. They are: access to territory and fair and fast asylum procedures; addressing human rights violations at the borders; enhancing monitoring and contingency planning; adequate reception conditions and alternatives to detention; intra-EU solidarity and sharing responsibility; return of asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected following due process; effective integration and inclusion for those granted asylum; resettlement and complementary pathways; and family reunification. As the Deputy will no doubt know, at the informal meeting of the justice and home affairs ministers on 3 February, ministers of the interior unanimously agreed to the French step-by-step approach to negotiating the pact.
The French now have strong political backing for the next steps. Discussions will continue in advance of the March formal Justice and Home Affairs Council where, it is hoped, concrete progress will be made.
I welcome the Deputy's statement on solidarity. Solidarity is the crux of making the pact materialise and happen and of having a better, more humane and more effective asylum system in the EU.
The Deputy also mentioned climate change. As he may know, in the global compact on refugees which was affirmed in the UN General Assembly in December 2018, there is a recognition that, "climate, environmental degradation and disasters increasingly interact with the drivers of refugee movements".
In January 2020, the High Commissioner, Mr. Grandi, appointed Mr. Andrew Harper as a special adviser on climate action. Mr. Harper drives UNHCR's engagement on the climate emergency, serves as a global advocate and is responsible for providing oversight and expertise to shape UNHCR's climate action agenda.
Our action in this very important area basically focuses on three areas. The first is providing legal advice, guidance and support to the international community to develop enhanced protection for refugees and other people displaced in the context of disasters and climate change and catalysing international discussions on their rights. Second, we strive to improve the predictability of our engagement to anticipate and prepare for emergencies brought on by climate-related and other natural hazards. Third, we aim to improve UNHCR's own environmental sustainability by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and minimising the negative impacts on the environment.
On the Deputy's question about where we see the future, it is always difficult to try to make such predictions. However, if one looked at the statistics that UNHCR regularly issues, one will have seen that the trend over the years is for the number of refugees and internally displaced persons and asylum seekers to grow. That is an indication, unfortunately, of what we are likely to continue to see - at least in the immediate future.
For that trend to be reversed, what is needed, first of all, and here I appeal on behalf of UNHCR to Ireland, the EU and the international community, as the High Commissioner, Mr. Grandi, so very often does, for more effective and active leadership to try to address the root causes of forced displacement. That involves, above all, trying to resolve the conflicts that create such displacement.
If one looks at a world map, one sees so many situations, wars and conflicts that have been going on for years and years.
Afghanistan, Syria and so many others come to mind. While we have to strive to secure peace in all those places, we know it is going to take time. In the meantime, we have not talked so much today about that, but it is extraordinarily important, not only that refugees in those regions of origin receive more humanitarian aid to keep them alive so that they survive, but also to step up development support for those countries. The idea is not only that refugees are fed or sheltered but that they can also strive to become self-sufficient and contribute to the economy of those countries that generally house them. This requires not only humanitarian aid but also development aid. I will leave it there for the time being.
