(Brussels) Australian actress Cate Blanchett, goodwill ambassador for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), on Wednesday urged MEPs to oppose “dangerous myths” that fuel “fear” and anti-immigration policies.
In front of the Brussels hemicycle, she began by discussing the war between Israel and Hamas by repeating the UNHCR’s call for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire and an immediate release of all civilians held hostage”, under the applause of the assembly.
“The conflict has cost, and continues to cost, thousands of innocent lives,” she added.
Cate Blanchett recalled that globally, wars, natural disasters and political upheaval have displaced 114 million people. She noted that among those exiled who left their country, the vast majority remained in neighboring states.
“I urge each of you to strongly oppose the dangerous myths peddled too widely and fueling too much fear and hostility, that all refugees are heading to Europe,” she said .
Regarding the exiles who attempt to cross the Mediterranean at the risk of their lives, the Australian artist stressed that “no one puts their children in a boat if the water is not safer than land”, adding that “walls, barbed wire, pushbacks are not a solution.”
She expressed the “shame” of “many of her compatriots” in the face of the migration policy, “now discredited and largely abandoned”, of her country, Australia, which for years relegated illegal immigrants trying to reach its coasts towards offshore camps.
She also affirmed that the Geneva Convention on Refugees, dating from 1951 and called into question by British Interior Minister Suella Braverman, was “still relevant” and “foundational of our common humanity”.
The actress, who cited several testimonies from refugees encountered during her missions for the UNHCR, urged MEPs to “ensure that EU policies focus on their protection and not on strengthening borders”.
She also alerted the EU to the financial needs of humanitarian agencies. “As the number of people forced to flee their homes increases, overall funding is falling,” she said, recalling that UNHCR alone urgently needs $600 million by the end of the ‘year.
