The Hollywood actress took the podium as part of the BBC's World on the Move day of coverage of global migration issues. Angelina Jolie Pitt spoke out against the fear of migration and the tough race between countries competing in a "race to the bottom."

Jolie Pitt added that over 60 million people are displaced — more than at any time in the past 70 years. She said the number of conflicts and scale of displacement had grown so large the system to protect and return refugees was not working. In her speech, Angelina Jolie Pitt reminded everyone that the UN is drastically under-funded.

"With this the state of today's world, is it any surprise that some of these desperate people, who are running out of all options and who see no hope of returning home, would make a push for Europe as a last resort, even at the risk of death?" the UN refugee agency's special envoy said.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi at the same venue stated that the refugee crisis is now a global issue and turning migrants away "won’t work."