Middle East and West Asia (MEWA) Region, is one of the leading regions in the world that has high statistics for both immigrations and emigrations. Therefore, the issues of migration and refugees significantly affect the dynamics of the region and makes the steps to be taken nowadays more meaningful. So much so that; MEWA region’s Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon are home to 10.5 million officially registered refugees and immigrants and they are among the top countries in this regard.
UN has set the theme for 2018 as “WithRefugees.” In line with dynamics of the region it operates, UCLG-MEWA supported and engaged in the activities and events during this year’s World Refugee Day. Within this context, UCLG-MEWA invited all its members and related institutions to sign and to disseminate the petition introduced in June 2016 with the initiative of #WithRefugees. In addition to this, UCLG-MEWA conducted various activities in its General Secretariat located in Sultanahmet, Istanbul and provided information to the people on the petition throughout the day.
Aiming to encourage governments to act for forcefully displaced communities, and to urge people to stand in solidarity with them, the petition received great support from local residents and foreigners in the region. The signature campaign conducted through the shares and posts with the hasthags #WithRefugees, #ByForWithRefugees received 2.6 million impressions for the petititon aiming to ensure every refugee child gets an education, every refugee family has somewhere safe to live and every refugee can work or learn new skills to support their families.
UCLG-MEWA, which conducts its activities in parallel with the global agendas, also referred to the 2030 Agenda in this campaign. In this regard, the campaign referred to the goals, No Poverty (SDG 1), Gender Equality (SDG 5), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (SDG 16), and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).
You can visit the UCLG-MEWA Flickr account to access the photos from the campaign.