Quotes from the gathering of world leaders at the UN

Key quotes from the U.N. General Assembly gathering of world leaders, which began Monday with a summit on the global refugee and migrant crisis.

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“The bitter truth is, this summit was called because we have been largely failing. Failing the long-suffering people of Syria, in not ending the war in its infancy. Failing others in now chronic conflict zones, for the same reason. Failing millions of migrants who deserve far more than lives marked by cradle-to-grave indignity and desperation.” — Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

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“They want to appear before a judge. If only there was one to hear them. If we can’t act on genocide, what is it that will force us to act?” — Amal Clooney, human rights lawyer, referring to victims of Islamic State militants and the need to prosecute the extremist group for genocide.

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“Why is a survivor like me knocking on the door of the international court of justice to get justice?” — Special U.N. Ambassador Nadia Murad, a Yazidi woman who was repeatedly raped while held captive by the Islamic State group.

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“There is intense public fear about refugees. As young refugees, we face this anger and fear every day. Doors are closed to us. Higher education is denied to us. We are often dismissed, not taken seriously and underestimated.” — Mohammed Badran of the Syrian Volunteers in the Netherlands.

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“More Syrians are born in Lebanon today than are being resettled in other countries, feeding a perilously destabilizing trend of internal growth in numbers. It is unthinkable that Lebanon could, alone, cope with an existential challenge of such proportion.” — Tammam Salam, Lebanon’s President of the Council of Ministers.

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“Today’s summit represents a breakthrough in our collective efforts to address the challenges of human mobility.” — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

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“Thousands of people are proclaiming their joy at being liberated from D’aesh rule. But whenever they are pushed back, I’m afraid D’aesh leave an ineradicable scar on those communities: torture, massacre, rape, mass enslavement of minorities” — British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson at a meeting on bringing Islamic State militants to justice.