 Welcome to A World on the Move. Ireland's ambassador to the United Nations David Donahue discussed the UN summit with our panel of refugees and migrants from across the globe. This was the first occasion on which migration to any extent was formally considered at the UN and that marks a breakthrough. Join us for A World on the Move. Welcome everybody to A World on the Move, the podcast program in which we bring the realities of refugees and migrants from around the world to the policymakers. I have a great pleasure of having Ambassador David Donahue of Ireland beside me. He is distinguished because in a record period of time he has pulled together with his co-facilitator this summit on refugees and migrants. First of all, a lot of people thought that it would take much longer to negotiate this agreement. After all, this is the first time that the UN was looking at the issues of refugees and migrants together. And this was the first occasion on which migration to any extent was formally considered at the UN and that marks a breakthrough. And of course these two summits, the one for the STGs and the one for migration and refugee issues, were closely interlinked. Thanks David. Well, enough talk maybe from men in dark suits. Let's talk to actual migrants and refugees who are joining us from around the world. As soon you're calling in from Canada and you have a personal story of migration and being a refugee, why don't you give us a very brief bio-pick and then address your question to the man in power, David Donahue. Thank you very much. Hi everyone. I'm calling in from Ottawa, Canada. I'm actually practicing refugee and immigration law for the Canadian Department of Justice. But my interest and attachment to these issues is because I came to Canada as a refugee when I was a young child from Iran because my family were Baha'is and the revolution and war resulted in our departure from there and our arrival here. I wanted to reiterate the importance of marshalling all the resources that we have and making use of the diaspora. For that, I'm very thankful for this podcast series that IOM has created to really give us an opportunity to have our voices heard with you. And so I want to encourage for that to continue to happen and to realize that also xenophobia, and I'll just end with this, it doesn't only have an impact on those who are currently finding themselves in instances of migration and refugees, but those of us who have past experiences because I know people can be hesitant. People who are very successful contributing members, well settled in their adoptive homes can be hesitant to associate themselves with their path. And so the impacts of xenophobia are far reaching. Ambassador, you come from a country that knows something about diaspora. I've soon asked you directly, how can the diaspora remain linked into this process and how can they make a difference? I should say that in a United Nations of 193 member states, not every member state was equally convinced that the diaspora should play a role, but we gradually built consensus on that point. And I'm very glad that we have those references there. That vast diaspora has a vital role to play in holding governments to account for the pledges and commitments that they have made this week. It was on the minds of negotiators that this is a resource that we have to use fully. We have to understand, we have to listen to the voices of those who are refugees or migrants and to have undergone this journey and have integrated in the countries of destination. We need to have that input if we are to ensure that everything we undertook to do this this week, in fact, gets done. Thanks so much, David. PJ, you're outside your flat, I suppose, with the light declining in London. You have, of all people on this call, I think, are the one where the rubber hits the road, because you've lived in a very gritty environment in Liberia and Sierra Leone. You've escaped being a child soldier by minutes, as you've told us before. Tell us what it means to you. Is this summit a meaningful summit? For me, I've been a refugee in many places, but also I've been able to be in a community where we've had internally displaced people come in. And being able to see different sides of the picture, then eventually move to England, where I split my time between London and Sierra Leone, where I also work. It's looking to see how can we get communities involved. And I think how can we get communities to be able to be involved in hosting refugees and in hosting people? Because I think it's great on a policy level to be able to get people for countries to take in more people. But xenophobia doesn't happen at the policy level. When it's overcome at the policy level, it needs to come to the community level. So how can we introduce compassion in communities? And how can the UN help and help governments be able to enable and train host communities to engage compassionately? Thanks so much, PJ. And just a reminder, the summit was a member state summit. It was not organized by the UN per se. So this question is very well placed to the representative of the member states. How can we tackle this issue of xenophobia? What can member states do? Because as we know, there is a toxic narrative against migrants and refugees out there. One doesn't have to look too far to find it. If one reads through the declaration, while parts of it, frankly, involve a certain amount of legal and technical detail, the most important parts relate to clear political messages about how the world leaders, first and foremost, want to save lives. They also want to end the conditions which give rise to forced displacement. These messages come across very clearly, and I think they are compassionate messages. So I think, PJ, your appeal to the UN is, to some extent, answered in this document. The key thing is that a very wide range of detailed commitments have been undertaken by every country in the world as of this week. And these cover practical support for refugees and migrants caught up in these situations. But they also provide policy support, legal support and, indeed, financial support. I know that this summit is a great thing. It's the first time in the world we need to give the states the time to do what they need to do. What more could we do to ask and to push and to demand the states to take the responsibility of the people who are in this place? And I will quote the open letter that you all received today from OSHA, UNP, IRC, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPs, where they ask you, they say, isn't it a great failure of humanity to limit humanitarian aid based on the lives of a man? This summit did not consider the specific issue of internally displaced persons because it was agreed by the General Assembly in advance that the topics for this summit would be refugees and migrants in the strict sense. But we do have a signal in the document about the importance of IDPs and the need to reflect on ways in which their predicament can be fully addressed. But you make a general point, Alfredo, to which I relate very well. And that is, you know, we have the defined sentiments as there were on the page. What can we do to keep the pressure up? And I believe that we have to work constantly, governments, civil society, UN agencies like to actually ensure that these commitments are translated into action as a matter of urgency. I am Dahalma, 25 years old, medical graduate from Syria, and now I'm going from Brussels, from Belgium. I'm very, very happy of seeing this summit to see the light and all this effort toward migration and refugees, since I'm refugee myself. I have fled from Syria because I was living in Damascus, but in general because once I graduate, I know that I will be needed for the military service to fight with the regime. And it is something that I don't want to do. I have been forced to take this trip because I needed to run away from the military service and why I needed to take only this road because I wanted my Syrian diploma is already have been recognized as a U.S. diploma. And I applied and I already have a job in the States. I already have a job in Arizona in the States, but my visa was refused three times and I was needed for the military service. So I had to risk my life taking the to the sea trip. So this is the is there is there will be any more attention to be drawn to toward this kind of issues? The question of visas naturally each member states each UN member state will have its own approach and handling. And I can't comment on that in particular, but at the same time, you know, in overall terms, the UN member states wanted to try to create a more receptive regime for for for refugees and migrants who are forced to to space themselves. Therefore, in the overall mood of the of the agreement is that we want to make it easier for for refugees and migrants to reach their country of destination. So in that sense, I sympathize with his with his basic desire. Generally speaking, in what we signed up to this week, there is a recognition that all those coming in large movements of refugees and migrants have much to offer, including highly skilled labor. And there is, for example, reference to the need to find to create educational opportunities, training opportunities, employment opportunities for all refugees and migrants. And that really speaks to much of what I was saying. Indeed, thank you so much. And indeed, we'll have another perhaps two years to look at that in more detail as the compact is negotiated. Let's turn finally to Heldana, who's been waiting patiently. This summit is important to me because as you previously mentioned, it's the first time that heads of states and governments have come together to come up with an international response to the current migration crisis. And I think that it's really important because it is a global crisis, so it should be addressed globally. And it's an excellent first step towards accomplishing so much more. And I'm amazed at how much commitment it has received from the member states. And I understand, Ambassador, that you played a key role in the negotiations leading to the declaration. So my question to you, well, to my understanding, the challenge so far in finding a comprehensive response was kind of finding this middle ground between safeguarding the rights of migrants and refugees and also recognizing state sovereignty and their decision to be able to admit who they choose. So I'm wondering what role that played in the negotiation process leading up to the declaration and how you were able to overcome those challenges. I think the key thing was that there was really widespread support across the UN membership for provisions, for a declaration which would emphasize the human rights of all concern. I'd have to say that every word of the 12-page declaration and the two annexes was hard fought. And the document was reviewed constantly by all delegations to get it just right. I'm personally happy that we achieved a high level of ambition. In some areas, we had to make some small compromises in order to get 193 member states to support it. But these were not major concessions. Largely, we kept the ambition high from beginning to end. And I think it's a set of documents that we can all stand over with some pride. Thank you so much, David Ambassador, David Dunahoe of Ireland. If diplomacy is the art of the possible, I think you get a gold medal for bringing this to the across the finish line today. Thank you to our guests for being so patient. And thanks to all of you who are watching in on live stream on UN television. And please keep joining us on this podcast as we continue to explore some of the trickier issues and put the policy makers like David to the test with real questions from migrants and refugees. Thank you all very much.