Several dozen countries and advocacy groups pledged Friday to do more to improve the treatment of migrants worldwide, as part of a UN global migration agreement that has so far brought limited results.
Abdulla Shahid, President of the United Nations General Assembly, told reporters that as many as 281 million people, or 3.6 percent of the world's population, are migrants and need support, AFP said.
"The international community has a responsibility to ensure that human rights of everyone involved is respected and protected," Shahid said after a forum in New York dedicated to assessing the progress of the Global Compact on Migration adopted in 2018 by over 150 countries.
Antonio Vitorino, head of the International Organization for Migration, said the pact has brought "uneven progress."
"There is a need for an extra push," Vitorino added.
"Respect for human rights, access to basic services, building alternatives to detention of migrants and above all, saving lives of migrants."
A declaration adopted at the end of the forum said that its signatories were "determined to enhance cooperation on international migration in all its dimensions."
