A galaxy of international stars has weighed in to support refugees, refugee agencies and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to mark Refugee Week 2016.

Margot Robbie, one of the many celebrity faces for the #WithRefugees campaign.

Cate Blanchett, Dame Helen Mirren, Will Ferrell, Benedict Cumberbatch, Margot Robbie and Patrick Stewart all support refugees and they, along with more than 60 other famous faces, have appeared alongside refugees and aid workers in a new video for the UNHCR in Australia.

“We stand with refugees, please stand with us,” is the message of the campaign, which asks the public not to be swayed by the anti-refugee rhetoric currently plaguing political debates across the globe.

“We are in the middle of a catastrophic displacement crisis that has already uprooted millions of innocent families, and seen too many lose their lives trying to reach safety,” UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett said.

She said the solution was ultimately political and will rely on “peace and stability”.

“But whilst we wait for that, we – as people with a voice – can and must play our part,” Ms Blanchett said.

“We must demand that all countries take a shared responsibility for ensuring refugees have protection, shelter and the chance to live a productive life.

“If enough of us stand together, we will be heard,” she said.

The world is in the midst of its worst refugee crisis since the Second World War and millions of people were newly displaced just in the last year, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

UN data shows that overwhelmingly developing countries carry most of the burden in housing and supporting displaces persons, but hundreds of thousands of desperate people crossed the Mediterranean to Europe in 2015. Thousands died along the way.

“At the same time, there was an extraordinary outpouring of empathy and solidarity, as ordinary people and communities opened their homes and their hearts to refugees, and some countries have welcomed new arrivals even while already hosting large numbers of refugees,” Mr Grandi said.

“The #WithRefugees campaign aims to amplify those voices of welcome and show that the world stands with refugees,” he said.

Jess Phillips
AMES Australia Staff Writer