We will benefit too if we welcome refugees with open arms

Developed countries can well afford to aid refugees. In fact, we can’t afford not to. And the way we respond will tell us a lot about ourselves, writes Peter Sutherland

THE Mediterranean migration crisis has delivered two critical lessons. First, Europe and the international community have grossly inadequate systems for protecting vulnerable migrants.

Second, in the absence of such systems, populist leaders will prey on fear to gain political support, undermining the liberal, tolerant societies that have taken 70 years of hard work to build.