Angelina Jolie has warned that a “politics of fear” has been allowed to proliferate over the current refugee crisis on Europe’s borders, because of inaction by individual states and a lack of international co-operation.

The 40 year old actress, a special envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), spoke to the BBC as part of a day dedicated to issues that cause, and arise from, the mass movement of people around the world. She described the challenge as a “once-in-a-generation moment when nations have to pull together.”

Angelina JolieAngelina Jolie called for urgent action to tackle the European refugee crisis

“It has given space to a false air of legitimacy to those who promote the politics of fear and separation… [and] created the risk of a race to the bottom, with countries competing to be the toughest in the hope of protecting themselves whatever the cost or challenge to their neighbours and despite their international responsibilities.

“If your neighbour's house is on fire you are not safe if you lock your doors. Strength lies in being unafraid… …it would amount to the worst of both worlds: failing to tackle the issue and undermining international law and our values in the process.”

Urging co-operation between states, she said: “Whether we succeed will help define this century… the alternative is chaos.”

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At the same time, Jolie blasted comments made over previous months by Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump about a prospective wall built on the American-Mexican border and a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States.

“It is hard to hear that this is coming from somebody who is pressing to be an American president.”

On the other hand, she had qualified praise for last year’s decision by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to open her country’s borders to refugees as “a beautiful thing and [which] said something to the world”, although it needed much more careful planning and order.

Jolie also said that the UK should demonstrate greater leadership on the issue than it has done thus far. “I mean it when I say it's not something that is an idea, it's something I believe we all know we must do because we are at that moment, we're really at a breaking point.”

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