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Celebrities urge UN to uphold refugee protections amid asylum pressures
The UN refugee agency highlighted that the 1951 Refugee Convention has saved millions of lives as governments tighten border controls.
Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie, and Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally, along with other public figures, urged that refugee protections be upheld as the United Nations warned of mounting pressure on asylum systems, according to Reuters.
Legal safeguards for refugees are set out in the 1951 Refugee Convention, drafted after World War II, and the UN has cited near record levels of displacement as conflicts proliferate while many governments tighten border controls.
The UN refugee agency backed the convention through a statement called “The Promise,” signed by celebrities, athletes, business leaders, and faith leaders. High Commissioner Barham Salih, a former Iraqi president and refugee, said the convention has saved millions of lives and that the “fundamental promise” must remain alive.
Among the signatories were actors Ben Stiller, Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Erivo, and Riz Ahmed, as well as Africa’s first female president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and basketball star Wenyen Gabriel. Gabriel said he was “living proof” that refugees can build a new life when given a chance.