Australian actress Cate Blanchett, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), urged MEPs on Wednesday to oppose “dangerous myths” that fuel “fear” and anti-immigration policies, AFP reports.

Addressing the Brussels camera, she began by mentioning the war between Israel and Hamas, repeating UNHCR’s call for an “immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid and the immediate release of all civilians held hostage”, to applause from the audience.

“The conflict cost and continues to cost thousands of innocent lives,” she added.

Cate Blanchett noted that wars, natural disasters and political unrest have displaced 114 million people around the world. She stated that the vast majority of those who left their countries stayed in neighboring countries.

“I urge each of you to take a strong stand against the dangerous myths that are too widespread and feed too much fear and hostility that all refugees are heading to Europe,” she said.

Speaking about the exiles who risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean, the Australian artist noted that “no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land”, adding that “walls, barbed wire and repression are not an option”.

She expressed her “shame” at Australia’s “discredited and largely abandoned” migration policy, which has for years repatriated illegal immigrants trying to reach its shores in temporary camps.

She also said the Geneva Convention on Refugees, which dates back to 1951 and has been called into question by British Home Secretary Suella Braverman, is “still relevant” and is “the foundation of our common humanity”.

The actress, who cited several testimonies from refugees she met during her UNHCR missions, called on MEPs to “ensure that EU policy is focused on protecting them, not on strengthening borders”.

She also drew the EU’s attention to the financial needs of humanitarian institutions. “While the number of people forced to leave their homes is increasing, funding is generally decreasing,” she said, noting that UNHCR alone urgently needs $600 million by the end of the year.