Hollywood actress and United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)'s special envoy, Angelina Jolie Pitt, has urged European nations to open their doors to refugees as part of their international responsibilities.

She lamented that many countries are afraid of "uncontrolled migration" and that fear had triggered a "risk of a race to the bottom", where countries are competing to have the toughest stance on migrants or refugees.

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Speaking as part of the BBC's World On The Move Day, she highlighted that more than 60 million people were displaced globally, which is higher than at any time in the past 70 years. Jolie warned that the "number of conflicts and scale of displacement had grown so large" that the system to protect and return refugees was not working, echoing previous comments made by UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, the BBC reported.

According to Jolie Pitt, the growing migration crisis tells us "something deeply worrying about the peace and security of the world". She added that the average time a person will spend in displacement now equates to nearly 20 years.

Furthermore, she said countries in the West are not the ones making the "greatest sacrifice" to deal with migrant crisis. Citing countries such as Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, Ethiopia, and Jordan, she said Europe was facing "only a fraction of the global refugee problem".

"We in the West are neither at the centre of the refugee crisis, nor – for the most part – the ones making the greatest sacrifice," the BBC quoted her as saying. Jolie Pitt also warned that closing our own doors when the neighbour's house is on fire will not keep us safe. "Strength lies in being unafraid," she added.

Angelina Jolie