Attachments
INTRODUCTION
The COVID-19 pandemic has consequences for everyone, and responses to it should reach the most vulnerable.
Asylum-seekers, refugees, people who are internally displaced (IDPs) or stateless, and other people on the move face risks to their health, protection, and resilience. The pandemic is not only challenging global health systems, but also testing our common humanity. The worst may be yet to come, especially in the developing world and countries weakened by conflict and political instability. When considering the possible wider impacts of an outbreak of infection in host communities, support to a refugee camp or settlement and their hosts, or to refugees in urban settings, is in everyone’s interest. The Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) provides arrangements that support these communities both in this response and in preparation for the future. This note sets out ways that the GCR and the related commitments made at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) can support refugees and other people of concern, as well as their host countries and communities, in the response to the pandemic.
KEY PRINCIPLES
Burden and responsibility sharing
The Secretary-General’s call for shared responsibility and global solidarity in response to the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 resonates with the GCR principle of burden and responsibility sharing. The global challenges posed by the pandemic require international cooperation, through concrete, practical immediate and future measures to support low- and middle-income host countries whose health and social protection systems are already strained. It is also vital to keep regular programming on track in the current situation, so that funds are not diverted from critical protection interventions or other humanitarian and development programming to pay for short-term projects.
Burden and responsibility sharing requires the broadened and deepened engagement of all actors through a multistakeholder and partnership approach (GCR, section 3.2). The most effective response to the pandemic will be one where every actor plays their part. UNHCR promotes a whole-of-government and whole-of-society response to complement efforts in the health and other sectors, in line with the GCR (paras 20-21, 33-44). The deepened engagement of refugees themselves, civil society, development actors, the private sector, INGOs, NNGOs, community-led organizations, and faith-based groups is key to mitigating risks and localizing the response in all sectors across the humanitarian-development-peace continuum.
Protection
The GCR reaffirms the importance of the international refugee regime. Refugee law continues to apply, even – and especially – in times like these when countries may need adapt their asylum systems to admit those in need of protection while protecting the health of their own populations. “Adaptability” is one of the aspects of a quality asylum system recognized in the GCR (para 62). The GCR further notes that support through the Asylum Capacity Support Group (ACSG) can be activated at the request of a concerned State to assist its national authorities to strengthen or adapt aspects of their asylum systems (ibid). The GCR also provides for the international community to support and adapt ‘protection-sensitive arrangements for health assessments of new arrivals’ (para 57) and the identification and response to individuals with specific needs (sec 1.5), such as women and girls at risk of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), or people who are elderly, have disabilities or medical needs, or are in detention).
The protection of people is central to the response. In the context of COVID-19, the UN Secretary-General affirmed that people and their rights need to be at front and centre. By respecting human rights, we will build better responses for the emergency today and solutions for recovery in the longer term. This requires assessing needs and developing responses through an Age, Gender, and Diversity (AGD) lens to ensure that no one is left behind. For example, the GCR promotes gender equality, empowerment, and meaningful engagement of refugee women and girls and an end to SGBV. As the pandemic has gendered impacts, including an increased risk of SGBV, women need to be at the center of the response and SGBV services strengthened in both national and civil society programmes.