Live blog: Global Refugee Forum 2023 – Day 2

Refugee participation has been a key theme for the Global Refugee Forum. Four years ago, there were 70 refugees attending the GRF. This number has increased to more than 300 refugee participants this year.

“Meaningful participation cannot happen without funding refugee-led organizations,” says Hane Alrustm, a Syrian refugee and the director of programmes at Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative, during a side event this afternoon.

Alrustm noted that one of the biggest challenges refugee-led organizations face is being excluded from decision-making processes, especially around funding allocations.

Sharing the panel was Tolga Öncü, Retail Operations Manager in IKEA Group, who stressed the business case for employing refugees.

Öncü believes that employing refugees holds many advantages, as refugee employees have higher retention rates (of around 90 per cent) compared to non-refugee employees. They also bring different perspectives which helps to foster creativity. He added that supporting refugees can boost profits, as data show that people tend to buy more from brands that are socially responsible.

Children make up 40 per cent of the world’s forcibly displaced population, yet sectors that are critical to upholding their rights remain critically underfunded and there has been limited engagement with children about what solutions they would like to see.    

At an event earlier today, displaced children called for their views to be taken more seriously and for their needs and contributions to be integrated into refugee responses. 

“All of the adults of power need to gain the trust of all children who were waved off and not protected,” said Sedra, a 15-year-old Syrian with a refugee background. “In order to form these policies that truly highlight the needs of refugee children … you need to go to refugee-based areas yourselves and hear the words of those children who have stories to tell … and needs they want you to highlight.” 

Over 84 pledges were made including by countries such Greece, Norway, Switzerland, Thailand, Colombia and Türkiye to promote displaced children’s rights to be safe, to participate, to be educated and to receive key services. Sedra and other refugee children then asked the governments and NGO representatives to explain what more they will do to protect their rights.  

Naya, a 16-year-old with a refugee background, concluded: “I expect everyone here, and I urge everyone here to also contribute to our needs.” 

“Let us strive to empower refugees and host communities to make them resilient and self-sufficent,” said Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister Ato Demeke Mekonnen, during a session earlier today that showed what can be achieved when governments, the private sector, UNHCR and other partners work with refugees and host communities. 

Ethiopia’s Melkadida camps are home to more than 210,000 mostly Somali refugees. Over the past decade, they and the local community have benefited from the world’s largest private sector investment in a refugee setting, with the IKEA Foundation investing more than $120 million in economic development initiatives, including solar energy grids. 

The success of the partnership has helped inform the government-led and multi-stakeholder new Melkadida Refugee Compact – a four-year plan to boost economic development, access to basic services and climate adaptation in the camps through partnerships with the private sector and other actors. 

“Melkadida Compact is the embodiment of our joint vision to lift the community of Melkadida out of poverty in a sustainable way,” said IKEA Foundation CEO Per Heggenes. 

Monicah Malith, a law student and the president of the University of Nairobi students’ association, looks at one of the exhibits in the area outside the main assembly hall in the Palexpo. This four-sided installation showcases the work of UNHCR and its many partners around the world through data, images, projects and pledges.

“What we’re trying to achieve here is better outcomes for more people on the move,” said Amy Pope, the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), during a discussion with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on joined-up approaches to addressing the challenges facing refugees and migrants. 

Both agreed that if states and other actors can work together to find solutions and alternative pathways for migrants seeking better lives, refugees would also benefit from the reduction in pressure on overstretched asylum systems.

Looking at areas of synergy between the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, Grandi urged a focus on the routes used by both refugees and migrants – such as the Darien region linking South and Central America – where both groups often face the same risks and challenges.  

“Because these complex flows that we’re talking about are really across many countries, we’re encouraging governments to look at these routes holistically,” Grandi said. “If – in dealing with these complicated movements – you only deal with the problem when it happens at your borders, it’s often too late.” 

Ahead of the start of the Forum, Pope and Grandi wrote a joint op-ed on addressing every stage of the journeys taken by refugees and migrants rather than focusing on their endpoints. 

🎤Aya, an Iraqi refugee, interviews @NielsAnnen, Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation, at the Global #RefugeeForum.

Discover Germany’s commitments and key actions to support refugees.

🎥 Watch his quick-reply interview.@GermanyDiplo @GermanyUNGeneva pic.twitter.com/AxA3rAdoQv

— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) December 14, 2023

Pledges are at the heart of the Global Refugee Forum and delegates have been busy announcing new initiatives and funding. Yesterday in plenary, several large-scale pledges were announced that bring together a wide range of actors to address issues including:

• Economic inclusion and social protection: more than $1 billion was committed to support law and policy changes in 15 countries to give 1 million refugees and others access to employment and social services. Led by Denmark, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, the US and the IGAD bloc of East African countries, the pledge brings together more than 60 states and around 150 other partners.
• Access to education: Led by Canada, Germany, the UK and the World Bank, this pledge commits countries to opening their national education systems to refugees – with 32 states pledging funding or national policy changes to achieve this vital objective. Other commitments included a pledge of $50 million by the Lego Foundation for early childhood and psychosocial support including in Ethiopia, Lebanon, Kenya and Uganda, and the disbursal of $500 million raised for refugee education by Education Cannot Wait.
• Labour and educational mobility: 200,000 refugees will be able to access employment and academic opportunities in third countries over the next five years as part of a pledge on “complementary pathways” led by Australia and Canada.
• Access to national health-care systems: supported by the World Health Organization and announced by its Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus, 147 pledges were made by different stakeholders, including 29 states – mostly refugee hosting countries supported by several donors – to facilitate refugees' equitable access to national health systems in their countries of asylum.
• UN Common Pledge 2.0: A total of 30 UN agencies and 49 UN Country Teams pledged to include refugees in UN development plans and support their inclusion in national systems and services, benefitting more than 50 million people.
• Connected education: Vodafone Foundation committed €20 million as part of a pledge to give refugees access to high-quality, digital education on a par with nationals by 2030.

At a workshop on the first day of the Global Refugee Forum, refugees joined business leaders and UNHCR representatives to discuss combatting misinformation and refugee discrimination by amplifying authentic refugee voices.

"As people who experience forced displacement first-hand, we have a more accurate picture of, not only the issue, but of its potential solutions too. We have a big role to play," said Aleksejs Ivashuk, who founded the Apatride Network, a coalition of stateless individuals, communities, and organizations in Europe in 2020 to amplify the voices of stateless people.

Speakers from INGKA Group, Fast Retailing, and Airbnb shared how they have leveraged their reach and resources to positively influence the refugee narrative, for example, by creating platforms and opportunities for refugees to tell their own stories.  

The workshop called for concrete solutions and continued collaboration between businesses and refugees, including rallying customers and employees to counter false and harmful narratives about refugees and stateless people.

“Together, we can elevate refugee voices and help change the refugee narrative,” said Shirin Pakfar, Chief of Private Partnerships & Philanthropy at UNHCR.

“I want to dedicate this award to the one who made my path easier and encouraged me to use my own agency to make a difference in this life.”

~ Abdullahi Mire

Join us in celebrating @‌miire06, the 2023 #NansenAward Global Laureate. pic.twitter.com/qU0R1qYquj

— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) December 13, 2023

Here are the main events to look out for today (all times in CET):

• Morning plenary session (10:00-13:00) – discussions on burden- and responsibility-sharing and new multi-stakeholder pledge announcements (follow on the live stream)
• High-level events (11:00-12:30) – topics include private sector engagement in refugee settings, children’s rights and labour mobility.
• High-level events (cont. 13:00-14:30) – topics include access to higher education and synergies in protecting refugees and migrants.
• Afternoon plenary session (15:00-18:00) – further discussions on burden- and responsibility-sharing and new multi-stakeholder pledge announcements (live streamed)
• High-level events (cont. 16:00-17:30) – topics include district coordination, meaningful refugee participation and the Rohingya situation.

You can view the full programme here.