Towards a global compact on refugees: Strengthening international cooperation to ease the plight of refugees in the world

The recent large-scale flows of refugees and migrants had brought to the world's attention more forcefully than ever the plight of persons who were forced to flee their homes due to war, insecurity or persecution. They had also exposed how ill-prepared the international community had been to deal with this challenge and how disproportionate the distribution of the burden of caring for such people had been among countries.

In 2016, to enhance preparedness for refugee crises, improve the situation of refugees and relieve the burden on host societies, the UN member states convened in New York and adopted a declaration paving the way for a non-binding international compact on refugees. They annexed to this declaration a comprehensive refugee response framework that spelled out a series of short and longer-term measures to address refugee crises.

The framework had been applied in several pilot countries and the lessons learnt have fed into a global compact on refugees, which was being drafted by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) through broad consultations with various stakeholders. The second draft was published at the end of April 2018; consultations on it took place from 8 to 10 May 2018. A third draft was published on 4 June 2018.

The global compact focuses on international-, regional- and national-level mechanisms for achieving a fairer distribution of the responsibilities related to refugees, and on areas where action could be improved. It had been criticised, among other things, for its non-binding character and for excluding victims of natural disasters from its scope.

ESO: Information Guide: European Migration Challenges http://www.europeansources.info/record/information-guide-european-migration-challenges/

Chatham House: Expert Comment, 06.08.18: Why Access to Energy Can Empower Refugees https://www.chathamhouse.org/expert/comment/why-access-energy-can-empower-refugees

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