World leaders on Monday approved a plan to address the alarming global refugee crisis at a summit of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Leaders from 193 member countries took part in the first-ever meeting on 'Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants' to come up with a solution to help the 65.3 million displaced people, AP reported.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the 'New York Declaration on Migrants and Refugees' was a "breakthrough in our collective efforts to address the challenges of human mobility". The declaration aims to bring about a standardised response to refugee situations, improve working opportunities for refugees, provide better education prospects for children – who constitute more than half the refugee population – and also campaign against xenophobia.

According to the UN High Commission for Refugees, there are around 21.3 million refugees, 3.2 million asylum seekers and 40.8 million migrants in the world at present. The agency differentiates between refugees and migrants as people forced to flee persecution or armed conflict, as against those who choose to move in search of better prospects.

Advocates for refugees, however, are disappointed with the UN's plan, which is not legally binding, and say it "falls short of the mark". Deputy Director of Global Advocacy for Human Rights Watch Philippe Bolopion said, "Is the outcome document up to the challenge? No, unquestionably it's not. Does that mean the summit is pointless? No, because it's precisely at moments like this that you need to regroup."

United States President Barack Obama has called for a second summit on the subject on Tuesday. At least 45 countries are expected to come on board with the country's aim to raise humanitarian aid by $3 billion, double resettlement, improve access to education for children and access to employment for the others displaced.