Ms Sophie Magennis:

Again, UNHCR is working very closely with all countries and appealing to all donors to provide funding. There are other countries, including the UAE and other Arab states, that have provided funding and we are engaging very closely with those countries. One of the purposes of today's meeting is to try to appeal to European Union countries, in the context of the discussions which are taking place today and tomorrow, to look globally at what other countries are doing but this is a defining moment for the European Union. The European Union is based on treaties which guarantee the right of asylum. The right of an asylum seeker or a person in need of protection to be granted entry to the European Union countries is set out in the 1951 convention and in the treaties and that right is not being guaranteed in all the European Union member states at the moment. We are currently appealing to all European Union countries, including Ireland, to take on board those obligations and to step up at what is a crucial moment and a testing time for the European Union.