 Good morning, and welcome to the second annual IOM NGO Humanitarian Consultations. Unfortunately, I'm really sorry I cannot be with you in person, because I have a lot of prior engagements in China on my annual trip, but with the aid of technology, I wanted to be able to welcome you here today personally. I want to say good morning also to Nan, I'm talking about Nan Buzard, Iqba Executive Director and our good friend, who I understand is joining me in this opening session. I'd like to thank you Nan for your continued engagement, and in particular for working with us on this event for a second year running. I'm pleased to see that some of the key issues that I know are important to Nan are also being discussed today. These include, first of all, moving beyond categories to ensure that humanitarian assistance is really accessible to everyone, irrespective of status, and secondly, the need to change the toxic narrative increasingly evident in many societies. I would like to focus my own reflections today on three themes around the letter N. First of all, the needs of those affected by crises. Second, the narrative on migration. And thirdly, the nexus, the coming together of humanitarian and development communities. First of all, the needs. As you know, we're living in a world with the greatest human mobility in recorded history. This includes many, unfortunately too many, who are fleeing conflict and persecution. But the complexity of these mobility patterns means that we have to adopt a needs-first, rights-based approach to life-saving assistance for all vulnerable migrants, regardless of status. So this is my first N, needs. Our refugee status is a central aspect of ensuring protection. We must also acknowledge that other migrants also need protections under human rights and other relevant law. They too have immediate needs that need to be addressed. The September 19 high-level event is our opportunity together to reinforce this commitment to the protection of the rights of all migrants. Closely linked, of course, is our accountability to those we protect and assist, which you will be exploring in much more detail later today. AAP was a hot topic at the recent World Humanitarian Summit, which I attended. The second theme is narrative. Another central challenge is that of changing the increasingly negative perception of migrants, including those displaced by crises, which brings me to my second N, the narrative. Xenophobia can undermine social cohesion between displaced communities and their hosts, and it makes it harder for all of us as humanitarians to respond to the needs and uphold the rights of vulnerable migrants. The media have a pivotal role to play in combating xenophobic reactions and fears. They are central in shaping or reshaping the public discourse. Can we help the media to strike a better balance between the negative reporting on migration issues, with reporting on the overwhelmingly positive contributions of migrants to the economy and social fabric of host countries and the critical investment migrants make back home? The Secretary General's intention to launch a global campaign to counter xenophobia is one which we at IOM fully support. During these consultations, I am hoping that you will explore how we can mutually amplify our impact, given our shared objective of changing the toxic narrative on migrants and migration. Thirdly, reconciling the humanitarian development at Nexus is a concern to all of us, and is my third and last N. The steadily rising cost of humanitarian action, particularly as displacement becomes increasingly protracted. Displacement has triggered renewed efforts to bridge the gap, with resilience-based approaches resonating with both humanitarian and development actors. IOM's own efforts to transition between relief and development are evident both in policy and in practice. We see human mobility as a potentially critical component of resilience. Mobility, including flight from danger, is intrinsically linked with the drive to improve circumstances, conditions, and opportunities, all of which are essential building blocks of resilience. I look forward to hearing feedback from your exchanges later today on reconciling the humanitarian development at Nexus, and some pragmatic examples of how this works in practice. To conclude, I deeply believe that partnership is central to achieving our shared goal of assisting and protecting those most affected by crises. Let us grasp this opportunity to deepen and strengthen our partnerships, and better respond to the needs of the people we serve. I fully support this humanitarian dialogue and the important work all of you do, and I hope that today's discussions will be fruitful.