Engagement Groups Urge G20 To Act Upon "Refugee Crisis"

Engagement Group Chairs called the G20 to act upon the refugee and migrant crisis, climate change, tax and gender equality, at a press conference held within the G20 Antalya Summit to gather world leaders on Nov. 15-16.

The engagement groups representing business (B20), civil society (C20), workers (L20), academia (T20), women (W20) and youth (Y20) raised concerns about the refugee crisis, calling on a "greater collective action".

Signed by B20 Chair Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu, C20 Chair Zeynep Bodur Okyay, L20 Chair Ergün Atalay, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) General Secretary Sharan Burrow, T20 Chair Güven Sak, W20 Chair Gülden Türktan and Y20 Chair Emre Cenker, the joint statement called on heads of states and governments meeting at the 2015 G20 Summit to urgently support development programs in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey.

The statement suggested long term economic support and coordination, works towards the recognition of refugees and called on world powers to take responsilibity to resettle a fair proportion of refugees fleeing to neigberhoing countries and assuring social services including education and health care.

The engagement chairs also underlined the necessity of taking concrete measures to encourage new and innovative economic activies that refugees and host communities alike, for instance programs to seed small and medium companies.

ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow stressed this year's G20 President Turkey has been hosting the largest number of refugees in the world.

"Success stories from migrants"

Following the press statement, B20 Chair Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu added, the countries have been facing the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War, five years after the crisis started.

"We need to solve this universal problem together. We cannot leave them to death. We are to integrate those people into the society" said Hisarcıklıoğlu.

"Most of them have skills and can be trained. We can see a lot of success stories from migrants, from Turkey's Bursa, Gebze…" he added.

"Terrorism should be number first problem"

"These migrants are our guests. But we are aware that there has been problems for labor force" said Chair of L20, Ergün Atalay, referring to reducement of wages and child labor on the rise. Security problem, terrorism should be the first problem for leaders and migrant crisis the second, he urged.

T20 Chair Güven Sak adressed trade relationships, in terms of the impact of Syrians in Turkey. "Syrian refugees have been trying their utmost to integrate" he said.

Extra caution should be made to secure diversity, urged Y20 leader Emre Cenker.

"The war economy"

Having responded to a reporter's question commenting that the statement has not called on for peace at any point, C20 Chair Okyay urged, "You can end the war but the important thing is to stop the war economy".

We have to stop the bombs but also the fear, said Burrow, reminding of a chain of terror attacks including the Ankara massacre.

The only way to reduce the fear is inclusion, sustainable peace, making sure people feel optimism an hope, she said, having stressed they were extremely proud of the response of Germany.

"We cannot afford inequality in choice of refugees"

While the resettlement plans are on the global agenda, especially European countries have been facing renewed questions about an alleged bias while accepting refugees, by "cherry-picking" and prioritizing the "educated" and "highly skilled ones" in a bid to assure economic growth.

"Immigration policies are of course selective but the problem is now so huge, we cannot afford to have ineqality in terms of your choice of refugee. People have to take refugees to give them safe haven" Burrow told Doğan News Agency.

"I am a teacher by trade. If you need skills you can train people for skills. We have to build opporunities for future" she added.

According to Burrow, countries will face a huge diverse challenge.

On the other hand, if countries include people, provide equal treatment and right to work, then they can build their economies, rather than if they do not, they would fear and division, said Burrow.