UNITED NATIONS: Ambassador to the United Nations Dr Maleeha Lodhi on Wednesday urged the world community for urgent action to deal with the growing crisis of forced migration.

“Half of the world’s refugees are children,” pointed out Lodhi while addressing as president of UNICEF’s executive board.

The ambassador also made a plea to the world community to live up to its responsibilities to address desperate situations in which children were the principal victims.

“It is a humanitarian catastrophe in which the suffering of children is unprecedented,” added Lodhi.

Pakistan’s permanent representative also said that the post-2015 agenda of the UN seeks to end extreme poverty, promote prosperity and well-being for the people, besides protecting environment for ourselves and future generations.

An unprecedented number of migrants have started arriving in Europe, with a camps springing up in various countries of Europe. Conflicts in the Middle East and Africa have contributed to the sudden surge of migrants escaping to Europe.