Justine Greening is to demand that the international community steps up its response to the migration crisis on Monday, when she becomes the first development minister to chair a meeting of the United Nations security council since the organisation’s creation 70 years ago.
In an illustration of the UK’s growing concerns that a lack of economic opportunity is breeding extremism, Greening will tell the UN gathering in New York that Syria has been let down by rich countries that have reneged on their promises of help.
“The international community needs to do more,” Greening said. “My message to the security council is that time is running out.”
Speaking to the Guardian before Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris, Greening said that if Europe did not do more to promote economic opportunities in Syria, it should not be surprised if the number of refugees continued to increase.
“It’s a question of scale. It’s the scale of the response. We need to tackle the root cause. People are feeling scared. People feel they have no future.”
Greening’s Department for International Development has been ringfenced fromthe budget cuts George Osborne will announce for most other Whitehall departments on 25 November, but she said the largest migration flows since the second world war meant money allocated to aid was well spent.
“People in Britain might be watching these debates in New York. The message is that it is in our national interest to have development and humanitarian support to help people have successful lives where they live.
“The flows are deeply concerning. This is not a summer phenomenon. Europe faces an underlying challenge if it is not able to support those countries bearing the brunt of this crisis – Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. If we can’t help them where they are, they are going to go somewhere else. We have to make sure they have hope and opportunities for the future.
Britain currently holds the chair of the security council and has decided to devote two days to discussing the migration crisis. Greening said the meeting would show “how global security is linked to development.”
The development secretary will point out that a UN fund to provide humanitarian assistance to Syria has received less than half the $8bn (£5.25bn) pledged. “We are seeing more refugees moving out of the region because they are not receiving the support they need. Children will miss out on primary and secondary school. The crisis will have a long-term impact on Syria.
“Britain has led the way in trying to provide support in the region. It’s not about more support, it is about the type of support: education, livelihoods and jobs. That’s something the international community hasn’t done in its work in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.
“It is not just the lack of resourcing but the way in which it has been spent. There has not been enough to make sure children are in schools, not enough work to make sure refugees have livelihoods and jobs.
Greening said many of the refugees were highly educated young men who wanted a better life. “They are not going to sit in a refugee camp. The tragedy is that some of them will be Syria’s brightest and best.
Greening said Assad had breached international humanitarian law bybarrel bombing his own people. “There are many things the international community can’t agree on. One thing that should be beyond disagreement is adhering to international humanitarian law and I find this deeply disturbing.”“This is a clarion call to get more support for refugees. We have had warm words. They have not been backed up by sufficient action.”
Asked if she felt embarrassed that her department was being spared from the cuts affecting her Cabinet colleagues, Greening said: “There has never been a clearer link between our 0.7% aid commitment and the right thing to do for Syria and helping countries in Africa to develop. It is 100% in Britain’s national interest.
“All my Cabinet colleagues know that I have been the ultimate aid disciplinarian, determined to see us get value for money. I have always been committed to making sure we can clearly demonstrate why it is necessary and how it is in our national interest. That’s a strong message – leading in emergencies and helping people where they are, and don’t feel they have to put their lives in the hands of people smugglers.”
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