A new U.N. plan to tackle the worst refugee crisis since World War II would aim to resettle at least 10 percent or close to 2 million refugees annually, piling pressure on countries to open up their doors to those fleeing wars and disasters.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon outlined the proposal for a new "global compact on responsibility-sharing" on Monday to address the crisis from the 60 million refugees and displaced people worldwide.
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The United Nations hopes that new deal will lift some of the burden on developing countries in the refugee crisis, which has been fueled by the five-year war in Syria and other conflicts.
The proposal calls for resettling at least 10 percent of the global refugee population of 19.6 million annually under a scheme that would be negotiated at the United Nations.
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"With equitable responsibility sharing, there would be no crisis for host countries," Ban said.
"We can afford to help, and we know what we need to do," but too often fear, ignorance and xenophobia get in the way, he said.
The UN plan was put forward as the European Union has been bogged down in disputes over how to deal with its refugee crisis.
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A handful of countries are currently bearing the brunt of the global refugee crisis, according to a recent report by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Eight countries host more than half of the world's refugees: Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya and Uganda.
Nine countries plus the European Union pay for 75 percent of the U.N.'s budget to support refugees: the United States, Britain, Japan, Germany, Kuwait, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Netherlands.
Ban is also calling for a new global compact on migration, but has set a two-year deadline to negotiate the terms of those arrangements on regulating migration flows.