The parliamentary division of the Federal National Council, FNC, has highlighted the important role played by parliamentarians in integrating refugees in their host communities.

As refugees await being returned to their countries, the council emphasised their contribution through co-operation between parliaments, relevant national institutions and regional and international governmental organisations in establishing programmes and projects that promote the culture of tolerance, moderation and co-existence.

It also stressed that it is essential to allocate financial resources as part of national budgets to develop the capacities of the youth and ensure equal opportunities and integration of youths, to achieve economic growth.

These statements were made based upon two working papers, entitled, "Refugees: The Humanitarian Necessity," and "The Role of Young Parliamentarians as Leaders in Achieving Integration," which were presented by Faisal Al Dhabahy, Member of the FNC, at the Fourth Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, which was held in Ottawa, Canada.

Al Dhabahy stated that the world is witnessing the highest levels of displacement in its history, as some 65.6 million people have been displaced from their homes around the world, including nearly 22 million refugees, with more than half being under the age of 18.

He also highlighted the importance of promoting technical, security, judicial and legislative co-operation among source and destination countries, based on the framework of respecting the rights of immigrants and the necessity of enhancing land and sea border controls to combat illegal migration.

During the conference, Al Dhabahy presented the UAE’s humanitarian approach to providing development, humanitarian and charity assistance to various countries around the world, and their people, while adding that 178 countries have benefitted from the programmes and projects launched by Emirati institutions since the establishment of the country.

He also noted that supporting refugees is among the priorities of the UAE, which is in line with its values and beliefs in human rights. The UAE has provided humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees since the start of the Syrian crisis, which has exceeded AED3.13 billion from 2012 to 2016, he added.

He further noted that the UAE has declared that it will host over 15,000 Syrian refugees in the next five years.