Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, meets with Cate Blanchett, Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, before the start of the plenary session. Ms Blanchett has been a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador since 2016 and shares her experience of, and insights into, raising public awareness about the plight of refugees and stateless people worldwide with MEPs.

Brussels

statement

plenary session

meeting

visit

EU - Israel (T)

EU - Palestine (T)

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

Visit of Cate BLANCHETT , Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to the European Parliament: meeting with Roberta METSOLA, EP President; and extracts from the address

Exterior shots, arrival of Cate BLANCHETT Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency,  (2 shots)

Interior shot, red carpet arrival of Cate BLANCHETT Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (1 shot)

Roberta METSOLA, EP President welcomes Cate BLANCHETT Welcome by Roberta METSOLA, EP President, and family photo (3 shots)

SOUNDBITE, (English) Cate BLANCHETT I am not Syrian, I am not Ukrainian, I am not Yemeni, I am not Afghani. I am not from South Sudan. I am not from Israel or Palestine. I am not a politician. I am not even a pundit. But I am a witness. And having witnessed the human cost of war, violence and persecution visiting refugees across the globe, I cannot look away.

SOUNDBITE, (English) Cate BLANCHETT, I am not Syrian, I am not Ukrainian, I am not Yemeni, I am not Afghani. I am not from South Sudan. I am not from Israel or Palestine. I am not a politician. I am not even a pundit. But I am a witness. And having witnessed the human cost of war, violence and persecution visiting refugees across the globe, I cannot look away.

SOUNDBITE, (English) Cate BLANCHETT, Vulnerable people are caught between a place from which they were forced to flee through no fault of their own, and a place that refuses to let them in. Thus marooned, they drown, or freeze, or are trapped under rubble, or starve, or are enslaved, trafficked, enlisted, exploited. Devastating outcomes we would not tolerate for ourselves

SOUNDBITE, (English) Cate BLANCHETT, Ten years ago, we were all appalled by the loss of hundreds of lives when an overcrowded boat sank near the island of Lampedusa. In the decade since, many more have perished the same way. And in ten years&rsquo; time, people will still be drowning near our shores &ndash; unless something changes. Complex situations require complex solutions, dialogue, collaboration &ndash; not soundbites and slogans.

<p>SOUNDBITE, (English) Cate BLANCHETT, I have seen the impact of humanitarian funding cuts on the ground.  The terrible choice  of who gets a blanket, or access to water, or whose food ration is cut, when supplies run out. I&rsquo;d like to echo UNHCR&rsquo;s High Commissioner, a lifelong humanitarian, who recently implored the international community not to forget the millions of desperate, vulnerable people who may not be in the headlines but who must not be abandoned.</p>

SOUNDBITE, (English) Cate BLANCHETT, The world is watching. May the spirit of hospitality and compassion and the championing of human rights that European modelled after 1945, and at the birth of the Refugee Convention, continue to provide an exemplar in the years to come. Thank you.