Geneva, Switzerland, December 11, 2023 — The last GRF in 2019 garnered more than 1,400 pledges and initiatives intended to help reach the objectives set out in the Global Compact on Refugees including greater responsibility-sharing, and longer-term support to refugees and host communities. However, four years on, many of these commitments are still far from being met - only a third having been reported as fulfilled.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in many refugees’ countries of origin has deteriorated rapidly. The International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) 2024 Emergency Watchlist - to be launched on 14 December - highlights how the 20 countries at greatest risk of intensified humanitarian crisis next year are being pushed to the brink by factors including the rise in violent coups, the failure to uphold international humanitarian law, exposure to climate risk, and increases in public debt - all matched by diminishing international support.
With the number of refugees globally reaching 35.8 million at the start of 2023 - a jump of 35% in just one year, and a doubling since 2016, it’s clear that the landscape has changed immensely since the last GRF.
The IRC's new briefing paper warns that this year’s event must offer more than empty promises - it is an opportunity to set out bold, ambitious pledges alongside a concrete roadmap towards meeting them. In particular, we are calling for participants to:
- Ensure economic inclusion and access to livelihoods for refugees
- Support refugee children’s education needs, mental health and psychosocial wellbeing
- Ease pressure on host countries by expanding refugee resettlement and complementary pathways
- Address rising needs through scaled up, multi-year funding for refugee response
- Shift power and resources to refugee-led and women-led organizations
Samira*, 42-year-old Afghan woman living in Germany, says:
“I struggled many times to take my children and leave Afghanistan, but I couldn’t find any chance to go legally. I heard about smugglers, that they can help. But one of my close friends' sisters sank in the water and died. I decided it’s not the way to save my life. I prefer to die in Afghanistan, not in the water outside… Thankfully, Germany accepted me on a humanitarian admission visa. When we left Afghanistan we were not happy, but we were safe… Nobody is happy to leave their country. But when people need help, we have a responsibility to provide them with a safe route.”
Harlem Desir, IRC’s Senior Vice President, Europe, says:
“As the number of people in humanitarian need has soared four-fold over the past decade, it’s clear that the international community is failing to eliminate the root causes of forced displacement - and it is failing to respond adequately once people are displaced.
Four years ago, at the last Global Refugee Forum, participants made bold commitments to addressing these root causes, and supporting people at every step of their journeys in search of protection. But today we are still far from achieving the core objectives set out in the Global Compact on Refugees. This time it must be different.While bold, ambitious pledges are needed, these will be meaningless unless they are backed up with concrete action.
Success will require a roadmap to ensure that refugees are supported to work, move, and thrive in their host communities - as employers, employees, taxpayers, and innovators. It will require more access to early childhood development and education more broadly, as well as mental health and psycho-social support programs, so refugees are empowered to overcome the adversity they have faced and have a real chance at a brighter future. It will require a renewed commitment to protection, with a focus on the holistic approaches that help ensure children and their caregivers are safe from violence and exploitation. It will require bold, ambitious pledges and investment in safe routes, so people are not left stranded in countries that cannot meet their needs or forced onto dangerous journeys in search of protection. And it will not only require more funding - in 2022, refugee response plans globally were left with an immense 59% funding gap - but more flexible funding, able to respond effectively to both emergency and longer-term situations.
Finally, refugee voices and experiences must be at the heart of all phases of the response. If the international community fails to make this a reality, many of the pledges made this week will remain little more than wishful thinking.”