UNHCR, UN members, partners meeting Tuesday to assess global refugee forum’s progress

Geneva, Dec 14 (FN Bureau) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the government of Switzerland will jointly host a two-day online meeting on Tuesday to assess the Global Refugee Forum’s progress. “The first follow-up to the Global Refugee Forum starts today. The High-Level Officials Meeting, a two-day virtual event, will bring together senior government officials, refugees and various stakeholders, to take stock of progress on how the world responds to refugee situations,” UNHCR said in a statement.

The meeting is expected to gather representatives of UN member states, as well as UN partners working in various refugee-related areas, such as various forms of assistance, resettlement, legal and political action. In addition to assessing the progress, participants of the event will also discuss the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic, climate change and new conflicts on refugee flows, as well as increasing forced displacement which requires more inclusive and sustainable measures, according to UNHCR. “The event will be an opportunity to identify gaps, review where efforts have continued or been adapted, seek solutions, and pledge new commitments for refugees and host communities ahead of the next Global Refugee Forum in 2023,” the statement said.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the global compact to create a framework for comprehensive international refugee policy on December 17, 2018. In 2019, the first Global Refugee Forum took place. It brought the international community together to discuss assistance to refugees and host countries. The Global Refugee Forum provides support on the issues relating to employment, education, policy developments, fiscal support, solutions to displacement, clean energy and infrastructure.