Peter Sutherland says Trump’s comments ‘utterly disgraceful’

United Nations Special Representative on Migration Peter Sutherland has described Donald Trump's comments on Muslim emigrants as "utterly disgraceful" and contrary to the charter of the UN.

The Republican presidential candidate proposed an ideological purity test to screen out immigrants with sympathies toward radical Islam in a sharp escalation of what he claimed is a religious war with the west. He also proposed refusing entry to people from certain countries.

Mr Sutherland told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that it was "utterly disgraceful to say that you're not going to accept someone fleeing from persecution because they're Muslim, which we've heard on both sides of the Atlantic, including from the Trump side.

“It is utterly disgraceful and contrary to the charter of the UN. We should be worried about human lives. This year more 3,000 are dead trying to flee across the Mediterranean.”

Mr Sutherland was commenting following the agreement of a draft UN declaration on the refugee and migrant crisis which will be discussed when world leaders gather at the United Nations next month.

“The mere fact that we’ve got to the stage where 193 countries have, in effect, agreed a draft of what will come out of the summit, is a bit of an achievement. Ten years ago when I started out on the migration trail some countries would not even discuss the topic in a multi lateral setting.

“If this doesn’t have real teeth and have a real effect then as a generation we will have failed to deal with the biggest challenge of our time.

"I think it potentially has real teeth, but at the end of the day we need to get specific commitments – some countries are stepping up to the plate – Germany, Sweden, Canada. "

The former EU Commissioner said that solidarity is important and that Greece should not have to "carry the can" for the whole of Europe. "What is required here is a sharing of responsibility and that's what the conference on 19th September is about."

He agreed that there should be limits on economic migrants and said that many in the refugee camps are not persecuted. “Economic migrants do not have an automatic right to move from one country to another.

“To deal with economic migrants we have to have a real system – to allow more legal migrants to stop illegal migrants. Some economic migrants deserve special attention and care – those escaping natural disaster, famine.

“They have to be given rights comparable but not the same as those escaping persecution. We need a system that actually works, that requires more then simply erecting borders. We spent a billion euro over the last couple of years erecting borders in Europe – borders which were meant to be demolished.

“This UN Charter will change things, albeit far too slowly.

“We’re getting small incremental increases, but it is pathetic in comparison to the challenge.”

Additional reporting: Guardian Service