Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] on Tuesday called [press release] on wealthy nations to become more active in solving the refugee crisis after discovering that 10 nations making up less than 2.5 percent of the world’s GDP have taken in more than half of all resettled persons. AI released a study [study, PDF] that found that rich nations have refused to take an active part in assisting refugees, which is making the crisis worse. The study found that the current resettlement is unsustainable as many countries are overwhelmed with assisting the 21 million refugees. The study further detailed that the refugee crisis is extending to all parts of the globe due to economic unrest and conflict. AI called on nations to take a greater interest in the crisis to assist in mitigating the burden on neighboring states.

Amnesty International is proposing a fundamental reform to the way in which states share responsibility. Our proposals are simple: introduce a system that uses relevant, objective criteria to show each state what their fair share looks like. Then use these criteria to address critical dimensions of the current global refugee crisis. Our proposal focuses on two key dimensions of the global refugee problem: resettlement of vulnerable refugees and alleviating pressure on host states that receive very large numbers.

AI urged world leaders to “enter into a serious, constructive debate.”

States’ response to the refugee crisis has varied. Low voter turnout invalidated [JURIST report] a weekend referendum in which Hungarian citizens voted to oppose any EU mandatory placement of refugees. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein in September urged [JURIST report] the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to end its pattern of expelling and detaining migrants contrary to international standards. A spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in August reiterated [JURIST report] previous calls to Australia to end offshore detention on Nauru.