Brussels, Belgium, 18 December 2023 — With refugee resettlement needs at an all-time high, the EU’s pledges for 2024 and 2025 are disappointing, warns the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which is pressing EU states to scale up resettlement programmes in line with the bloc’s true capacity for welcome.
During the Global Refugee Forum (GRF), taking place in Geneva last week, Ylva Johansson - the EU’s Home Affairs Commissioner - announced that EU member states have pledged to resettle just 31,000 refugees in 2024 and 2025. That equates to 15,500 refugees per year.
While every pledge is welcome, this is a significant drop on the commitments made at the last GRF, in 2019, when the EU showed much greater ambition - pledging to resettle 30,000 refugees in 2020 alone. This reduction comes despite the number of people in need of resettlement globally soaring almost three-fold during the same period, from 1.4 million in 2020 and 2.4 million in 2024.
The EU’s new pledge is roughly on par with its 2023 commitment to resettle approximately 15,897 refugees this year.
Furthermore, huge question marks remain over how EU states intend to reach their targets, having failed to meet their combined resettlement goals every year since 2020. So far in 2023, 13 EU member states have resettled about 11,000 refugees - short of their target of resettling 16,000 (according to UNHCR’s Resettlement Data Finder).
Each of these unfulfilled pledges, leaves a vulnerable refugee trapped in limbo in their country of first arrival - often in dire conditions, unable to begin rebuilding their lives.
The IRC is also alarmed that the number of EU states participating in resettlement schemes is diminishing. Just 14 states have pledged to participate in resettlement programmes in 2024 and 2025 - down from the 17 who made such commitments last year.
In addition to its resettlement commitments, the EU has pledged to welcome 30,000 refugees in 2024 and 2025 through humanitarian admission programmes, which allow the urgent relocation of vulnerable people following a humanitarian emergency such as a conflict or environmental catastrophe. This is a welcome development, and the IRC will stand ready to support endeavors to turn this commitment into reality.
Harlem Desir, the International Rescue Committee’s Senior Vice President, Europe, says:
“While we welcome the EU’s resettlement pledges for the coming years, it’s clear that maintaining the status-quo is simply not good enough. With displacement at an all-time high, and the number of people in need of resettlement expected to soar by 20% to 2.4 million next year, this lack of ambition is disappointing.
"We have repeatedly called on the EU to resettle at least 44,000 refugees in 2024 alone, scaling this up to 48,000 the following year, which is perfectly possible and more in line with its true capacity for welcome. This should go hand-in-hand with increased investment in EU states’ own resettlement programmes, many of which are currently at risk of shrinking or being dismantled.
"As negotiations on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum draw to a close, it’s also vital that the EU adopts the Union Resettlement Framework - a key element of the Pact which would establish a more structured, predictable EU resettlement system that is fit for the future.
Crucially, while resettlement is a lifeline for vulnerable refugees, it must never replace the fundamental right to claim asylum. Everyone has the right to apply for protection in Europe - regardless of where they are from, or how they arrive.”
What is refugee resettlement?
- Resettlement is an internationally-agreed framework, enabling the transfer of refugees who have already fled their country and claimed asylum in a second - such as Türkiye, Pakistan or Uganda - to a third country that is more able to support them and meet their needs.
- Refugees are identified as in need of resettlement when they have particular needs or vulnerabilities in their country of asylum, and cannot return to their country of origin. A large majority of people in need of resettlement are women and girls, survivors of violence, and people with specific protection needs.
- According to UNHCR, 2.4 million refugees will be in need of resettlement in 2024 - a sharp 20% increase on 2023.
- Resettlement helps to ease the pressure on the low- and middle-income countries currently hosting 75% of the world’s refugees, and also enables receiving countries to welcome people in a humane and efficient way.