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by Xinhua writer Chen Shilei
BEIJING, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- As the refugee crisis stemming from Syria's civil war and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan lingers on, nations around the world need to realize that only concerted efforts by all aimed at the root causes instead of empty talks can solve the issue.
At a UN summit on refugee crisis held Monday in New York, world leaders approved a declaration aimed at providing a more coordinated and humane response to deal with migration of the more than 20 million refugees worldwide.
In fact, Western countries, especially the United States that is largely responsible for the war and conflicts in the regions concerned, needs to take the lead in addressing the refugee crisis, because what they did in those regions has partly led to war, social instability and poverty -- the main root causes of the refugee issue.
Take the Syria war for instance. Now in its sixth year, the war has produced more than 4.8 million registered refugees -- who were forced to abandon their home and flee to neighboring countries and regions, especially Europe.
The war seems to continue as the week-long Russian-U.S. brokered truce in Syria comes to an end on Monday.
Meanwhile, the wealthy Western countries' political inaction could negatively influence other countries.
The measures adopted by rich countries to limit refugee numbers have fostered similar policies in regions that have traditionally welcomed high numbers of refugees, according to British think tank the Overseas Development Institute.
Examples include the refusal of Jordan to receive about 70,000 Syrians stranded in the desert and Kenya's plans to close the Dadaab refugee camp and repatriate its largely Somali refugee population, the institute said.
Eradicating the root causes of the refugee crisis by ending wars, bringing social stability, and promoting economic development, employment and education is the fundamental way to help refugees to go back home.
At the UN summit, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said China will provide 100 million U.S. dollars in additional humanitarian aid to help solve problems brought about by massive movement of refugees and migrants.
He said China is also considering setting aside a portion of the China-UN peace and development fund to support developing countries in their efforts to address relevant issues.
Furthermore, China has offered its solution by investing in countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The Chinese investment has promoted local economic development, created many jobs, reduced local people's pressure to leave home and played an important role in maintaining local social stability.
Today, as no country can stay immune to the global issue of refugees and migrants, the international community needs to act urgently and strongly in unity to more effectively respond to the issue.
