Hung Ly vie suomalaisten nuorten viestiä YK:n 77. yleiskokoukseen New Yorkissa. Yleiskokouksen kolmannessa komiteassa käsitellään muun muassa lasten ja nuorten oikeuksia, rasismin vastaista työtä ja sosiaalisen kehityksen kysymyksiä.
Suomen nuorten YK-delegaatti Hung Ly esitti YK:n yleiskokouksessa vetoomuksen pakolaisten ja turvapaikanhakijoiden puolesta torstaina 29.9.2022. Maailmassa on YK:n pakolaisjärjestö UNHCR:n mukaan noin 13 miljoonaa alaikäistä pakolaista. Pakolaisten ja turvapaikanhakijoiden turvallisuuden ja perusoikeuksien turvaamiseksi nuorten YK-delegaatti esittää lisää kansainvälistä lainsäädäntöä.
“Yksi hyvin konkreettinen toimi on kriminalisoida rasistinen vihapuhe, joka vaikuttaa erityisesti nuorten pakolaisten ja turvapaikanhakijoiden mielenterveyteen”, Ly toteaa kokouspuheessaan.
Lopuksi Ly kannustaa muita valtioita liittymään Suomen esimerkkiä seuraten niiden 21 maan joukkoon, jotka vastaanottavat YK:n pakolaisjärjestön uudelleensijoitettavia kiintiöpakolaisia.
Nuorten YK-delegaattina kaudella 2022-2023 toimiva Hung Ly, 22, opiskelee kauppatieteitä Jyväskylän yliopistossa. Ly osallistuu yleiskokoukseen ensimmäistä kertaa. Lue englanninkielinen puhe kokonaisuudessaan alta tai katso puhe YK:n striimipalvelusta (kohdasta 51:40 alkaen).
“Honorable Chair, Your Excellencies, Fellow Youth Delegates,
My parents were Vietnamese boat people. They were forced to flee their home at the age of 22, the same age as me today. 30 years after they arrived in Finland, it is an honor for me to take part in this discussion as the UN Youth Delegate of this country and represent their story and legacy as refugees, as the issue still remains affecting millions of young people.
According to the UNHCR, there are over 89 million people forced to flee their homes. Among them are nearly 27 million refugees, around half of whom are under the age of 18. In addition, there are over 4 million asylum seekers globally
The world is facing the worst refugee crisis since the second world war due to failed preservation of peace and security. Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine and conflicts in Afghanistan and Palestine are just some examples of how our world peace and security is threatened.
I regret to state that we are far from delivering what’s best for humanity. Instead of coming together and finding necessary solutions to help refugees and asylum seekers, we are arguing on the matter of human rights and whose responsibility it is to take action. The discussion around refugees and asylum seekers has polarized nations: Racist, xenophobic speech and violence towards minorities are rising, and is endangering our common will and courage to create a better future.
The conflicts I mentioned have had an increasing effect on the number of refugees and asylum seekers. The processing times are often long and leave young refugees and asylum seekers in uncertainty and without any hope for the future. This endangers young refugees and asylum seekers to fall victim to human trafficking and exploitation due to lack of security and access to basic needs.
Moreover, families are often being separated in the process and forced returns of asylum seekers have led to situations where human lives have been put at risk. Refugee and asylum seeking policies around the world are still lacking in placing human rights and dignity over policy.
The insufficient access to basic human rights also extends to education and work. Only 6 percent of refugees have access to higher education. In many countries, an ethnic name or background still affects the possibilities of being employed or how one is being treated in educational institutions. This intersectional discrimination has long-term effects on young refugees’ and asylum seekers’ living standards, public life and access to political decision making.
Chair, your excellencies, the issues I’ve stated, prove that we are still far from being an inclusive world for young refugees and asylum seekers. But we can do better.
First, we need to focus on having as humane refugee and asylum seeking policy as possible. Building complementary pathways and shortening processing times are an essential part of solving the problem. A humane approach should also involve understanding that refugees and asylum seekers are a diverse group of people. Policies must be equal, yet flexible to take into account different situations, instead of applying a singular approach for all.
Second, we need to have a universal educational system, where mobility between secondary and higher education is ensured even when becoming a refugee or an asylum seeker. We also need a better understanding of the systematic barriers that refugee and asylum seekers face when it comes to employment, and create targeted policies and programs to tackle these issues.
Third, we need to develop legislation and global agreements to protect refugees and asylum seekers from all forms of violence. One and very practical way is criminalization of racist hate speech, which affects especially the mental health of young refugees and asylum seekers.
Last but most importantly, we need to work together and put humanity first.
As Finland being one of the 21 countries resettling UNHCR refugees, I encourage other countries to join the efforts.
Instead of thinking what’s best for our nations, we should start thinking of what’s best for our nations united, us as a whole, the United Nations.
Thank you chair.”
Lisätietoja
Hung Ly
Nuorten YK-delegaatti 2022-2023
yk-nuorisodelegaatti@nuorisoala.fi
Nuorisodelegaatit ovat Allianssin nimittämiä luottamushenkilöitä, jotka edustavat sukupolvensa ääntä, käyvät dialogia ja nostavat keskusteluun nuorten ajatuksia ja toiveita sekä vaikuttavat poliittisiin prosesseihin niin Suomessa kuin kansainvälisesti.
