Global Mayors Joint Statement: Welcome Afghan Refugees Now
As the US and other foreign forces withdraw from Afghanistan, thousands of Afghans are attempting to flee the country to protect their rights and freedoms, prompting mayors worldwide to prepare to welcome Afghans seeking refuge in their cities. In the past two months, 300,000 Afghans have fled their homes in search of safety, joining six million Afghans who have been displaced by decades of conflict.
The Mayors of the MMC’s Leadership Board, along with other mayors and city-led organizations representing over 240,000 cities from around the world, issued an urgent statement calling on national governments to immediately open their doors to Afghan refugees and provide the resources needed to facilitate resettlement, while encouraging donors and other mayors to take steps needed to provide humanitarian support to refugees and asylum seekers.
Human Rights Watch, The Hill, and the German Marshall Fund of the United States have highlighted the importance of this joint mayoral leadership.
The statement has 73 signatories and is still available for signature by mayors, county executives, or equivalents. Eligible signatories or interested parties are welcome to email diplomacy@mayorsmigrationcouncil.org for more information.
For press inquiries, please email ivonne.rodriguez@berlinrosen.com.
Read the full statement below and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Global Mayors Joint Statement: Welcome Afghan Refugees Now
We are deeply saddened by the situation in Afghanistan, which exacerbates one of the world’s longest standing humanitarian and displacement crises. In the past two months, 300,000 Afghans have fled their homes in search of safe havens or a way out. They join six million Afghan refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) already forced to move by decades of conflict and with little hope for return. Most of those fleeing Afghanistan now are women whose rights and freedoms are further at risk and children whose futures are now in jeopardy.
As mayors representing cities across the globe, we stand ready to immediately welcome Afghan refugees in our communities. We call on our national governments and the international community to urgently work with the global network of city leaders and civil society to expand pathways and provide humanitarian support now.
70 percent of the world’s refugees, asylum seekers, and IDPs already live in cities, connecting us to families and cultures all over the world. City leaders are experienced — through will and necessity — in building strong, diverse communities founded on welcoming and inclusion. Cities big and small around the world are already stepping up in support of the Afghan people — from committing to welcome thousands of new Afghan refugees in their cities, to establishing city-run relief funds to aid those in need of assistance. But we can and must do more.
We commit to providing safety and support to Afghans already living in our respective cities, their families and loved ones, and those who will inevitably flee over the coming weeks and months. We stand with the mayors and local governments of Afghanistan who have welcomed internally displaced and returning Afghans for decades and are now facing threats. We also recognize that without a truly global protection response based on solidarity, the responsibility for hosting Afghans fleeing their country will once again fall on the shoulders of neighboring countries and localities along migration routes. We stand next to the mayors in these major reception areas as they prepare to support new arrivals.
In cooperation with national and international partners, we can open our cities to Afghans today.
Together, we invite:
National governments to:
- Expand protection and pathways to resettlement for Afghan families and individuals, including simplifying asylum and reunification procedures.
- Support and expand immediate evacuations of at-risk Afghan families and individuals.
- Decriminalize journeys of Afghan families and individuals that are not undertaken through regular pathways
- Stop forcible returns of Afghan asylum seekers given the impossibility of safe and dignified return at this time.
- Cooperate with and resource city governments to facilitate the welcoming, protection, and inclusion of Afghan families and individuals so they can recover and rebuild their lives.
Donors to:
- Close the gap in humanitarian assistance for at-risk Afghans, meeting the United Nations’ call for $1.3 billion USD to reach people in need, currently funded only at 37 percent.
- Channel financial and technical resources to city governments and their local partners to accelerate on-the-ground responses in refugee receiving cities.
Mayoral colleagues to:
- Join our commitment to welcome, protect, and include Afghan refugees and asylum seekers as residents of our cities.
- Advocate for your national government to expand protection, including resettlement, for Afghan families and individuals.
- Provide services, funds, and support to affected Afghans in partnership with local NGOs and diaspora communities.
As mayors catalyzing bolder and smarter global action on migration and refugees, the situation in Afghanistan has further strengthened our commitment to working with our national governments, international partners, and city government colleagues around the world to provide all refugees and asylum seekers safety and security during these challenging times. The solution to the enduring displacement of Afghan people is also an urban one.
Mayoral and Local Government Executive Signatories (71 total):
Ruth Butterfield
Mayor of Armadale, Australia
Ranka Rasic
Mayor of Brimbank, Austrailia
Lina Messina
Mayor of Darebin, Australia
Anna Reynolds
Lord Mayor of Hobart, Australia
Gillian Aldridge
Mayor of Salisbury, Australia
Ricardo Nunes
Mayor of São Paulo, Brazil
Marie Angèle Meyanga epse Noah Ngah
Mayor of Afanloum, Cameroon
Fred Eisenberger
Mayor of Hamilton, Canada
Berry Vrbanovic
Mayor of Kitchener, Canada
Valérie Plante
Mayor of Montréal, Canada
Leadership Board Member, Mayors Migration Council
Luc Carvounas
Mayor of Alfortville, France
Christian Métairie
Mayor of Arcueil, France
Clément Rossignol Puech
Mayor of Bègles, France
Anne Vignot
Mayor of Besancon, France
Pierre Hurmic
Mayor of Bordeaux, France
Olivier Bianchi
Mayor of Clermont-Ferrand, France
Eric Piolle
Mayor of Grenoble, France
Christophe Ferrari
Grenoble Metropolis President and Mayor of Pont de Claix, France
Gilles Poux
Mayor of La Courneuve, France
Grégory Doucet
Mayor of Lyon, France
Jacqueline Belhomme
Mayor of Malakoff, France
Gaby Charroux
Mayor of Martigues, France
Bruno Bernard
President, Métropole de Lyon, France
Anne Hidalgo
Mayor of Paris, France
Léonore Moncond’huy
Mayor of Poitiers, France
Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol
Mayor of Rouen, France
Mathieu Hanotin
Mayor of Saint-Denis, France
Wilfried Tissot
Mayor of Saint-Pierre d’Entremont, France
Jeanne Barseghian
Mayor of Strasbourg, France
Emmanuel Denis,
Mayor of Tours, France
Cedric Van Styvendael
Mayor of Villeurbanne, France
Peter Kurz
Mayor of Mannheim, Germany
Giuseppe Sala
Mayor of Milan, Italy
Leoluca Orlando
Mayor of Palermo, Italy
Som Prasad Mishra
Mayor of Changunarayan, Nepal
Hubert Bruls
Mayor of Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Taysir Taha
Mayor of Hebron, Palestine
Ricardo Rio
Mayor of Braga, Portugal
Fernando Medina
Mayor of Lisbon, Portugal
Susan Aitken
Leader of Glasgow City Council, Scotland
Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr
Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone
Leadership Board Member, Mayors Migration Council
Corine Mauch
Mayor of Zürich, Switzerland
Leadership Board Member, Mayors Migration Council
Erias Lukwago
Lord Mayor of Kampala Capital City, Uganda
Leadership Board Member, Mayors Migration Council
Councillor Ian Ward
Leader of Birmingham City Council, United Kingdom
Marvin Rees
Mayor of Bristol, United Kingdom
Leadership Board Member, Mayors Migration Council
Nick Forbes
Leader, Newcastle City Council, United Kingdom
Tim Keller
Mayor of Albuquerque, United States
Steve Adler
Mayor of Austin, United States
Lauren McLean
Mayor of Boise, United States
Kim Janey
Mayor of Boston, United States
Byron Brown
Mayor of Buffalo, United States
Lydia Lavelle
Mayor of Carrboro, United States
Lori Lightfoot
Mayor of Chicago, United States
Michael Hancock
Mayor of Denver, United States
Sylvester Turner
Mayor of Houston, United States
Eric Garcetti
Mayor of Los Angeles, United States
Leadership Board Member, Mayors Migration Council
Daniella Levine Cava
Mayor of Miami-Dade, United States
Bill de Blasio
Mayor of New York, United States
Libby Schaaf
Mayor of Oakland, United States
James F. Kenney
Mayor of Philadelphia, United States
William Peduto
Mayor of Pittsburgh, United States
Ted Wheeler
Mayor of Portland, United States
Angela Birney
Mayor of Redmond, United States
Tom Butt
Mayor of Richmond, United States
Jenny Wilson
Mayor of Salt Lake County, United States
Ron Nirenberg
Mayor of San Antonio, United States
Todd Gloria
Mayor of San Diego, United States
Alan Webber
Mayor of Santa Fe, United States
Jenny Durkan
Mayor of Seattle, United States
Regina Romero
Mayor of Tucson, United States
Lindsey Horvath
Mayor of West Hollywood, United States
Leader Signatories (2 total):
Naseer Ahmad Lilizai
Ex-Mayor of Pul-i-Alam City Logar province and Ghazni City, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan
Grace Mary Mugasa
Honorary Mayor/Minister of State for Public Service, Uganda
Supported by:
ANVITA (Association Nationale des Villes et Territoires Accueillants)
IRAP (International Refugee Assistance Project)
