Strategies to proactively respond to the challenges of migration needed to be created by the international community with refugees and migrants being part of the conversation, President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca said this morning.

The President was addressing the plenary session of the Women in Parliament Global Forum in Jordan.

Women leaders, she said, should strive to make a positive, effective, and deep-rooted change.

“If people are fleeing in this way, because of whatever adversity instigates their journey, we are duty bound to find ways of addressing their struggles.  Impeding the illegal work of smugglers and traffickers is crucial if we are to become active agents in saving lives.

“This should be part of a larger process that must include safer border crossing, and person-centred legislation to protect and safeguard the rights of the vulnerable,” she said.

“We must work together, in our capacity as women leaders, to propose new strategies and define new policies.

“We must bring the uniqueness of our position as women leaders, to respond to those who argue that borders and fences are the only way to deal with the growing numbers of vulnerable people.”

Women leaders, the President said, had to see what could be done to improve protection, alleviate discrimination, and replace paradigms of exploitation with a global culture of human dignity and peace.

“To nurture resilient communities, we must be resilient leaders.  We must be adaptable to fast-changing situations, and provide practical responses to meet both our short-term and long-term objectives…

“We must acknowledge that we are responsible for one another. We must practice solidarity with the most vulnerable and the oppressed, and recognise the disproportionate inequalities faced by so many migrant women in their struggle to achieve a better life…

“It is our duty to ensure that the individual dignity of the asylum seeker, of all persons, is at the heart of our discussions. It is from this firm foundation that we can then reach out to build sustainable peace within our communities, societies, and entire nations,” the President said.