Thank you so much, Mr. Aboultaif.
First of all, it's important to consider that in the context of the Somalia situation, we're speaking about 27 years. It's not 15. We're speaking about the fact that a generation of Somali refugees have been trapped in exile since they first left Somalia. Their character has changed. Half the population of the refugees that we're dealing with are of school age, between the ages of three and 17. A great majority are youth. This is the future of our whole country.
The challenge we have is to equip them with the necessary skills before they return, or, even if they don't return in good time, to allow them to be useful citizens globally. This is what we are now involved in, and I come to Canada to seek support for education and vocational training for this large number of refugee children who have matured in the camps.
The other issue you spoke about is the demographic change. As I speak, we have youth, but of course the birth rate doesn't stop for people who have been trapped in camps for the last 27 years. Children continue to be born on a daily basis.
How to take care of the future of those children is a challenge for all of us. I call upon Canada and countries around the world to join the efforts of the UNHCR to address these challenges of the refugee population, which is changing demographically but is also a very protracted situation.
I visited all the camps, and I haven't seen anybody who has told me he doesn't want to go back to Somalia. Every day all of them wish to go back. The challenge is that the condition of the country now cannot allow for a massive return. This is where I call upon all of us, in the spirit of the global compact of which Canada is a champion, to assist the countries of origin to create better conditions.
In my statement I have asked for support to be given to the Somali government so that the conditions inside the country can be much better than they are now to allow its citizens to return to the region. This is the best solution, and we need to pursue it.