Attachments
Republic of Colombia, France, Japan, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Republic of Uganda, the Swiss Confederation, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
1.\ At a time of increasing and often unresolved forced displacement and deep crisis globally, refugee numbers have doubled since the New York Declaration was adopted in 2016. As new displacement continues to outpace available solutions, the approach set out in Global Compact on Refugees is needed more urgently than ever before. In recognition of this, over 4,200 people from 168 government delegations, including 5 heads of state and government, 86 at the ministerial level and above, and over 300 refugees converged at the second Global Refugee Forum. This included 427 other delegations representing NGOs, the private sector, and other multistakeholder groups. More than 10,000 participated online from 120 countries. Both the co-convenors the Republic of Colombia, France, Japan, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the Republic of Uganda) and the co-host (Switzerland) together with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) were honoured to serve in these functions and thank all those who contributed to making the Forum a success. The forum provided an opportunity to bolster unity and international solidarity grounded in humanitarian principles for refugees and the communities that host them. The participants committed to substantive and transformational actions to address refugee situations worldwide. Building on the achievements of the first Forum in 2019, the international community collectively reaffirmed and pledged towards the four objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees to ease pressures on host countries; enhance refugee self-reliance; expand access to third country solutions; and support conditions in countries of origin for return in safety and dignity.
2. The Global Compact on Refugees envisions that its objectives be achieved through the mobilization of political will and a broadened based of support. The Forum was an opportunity to galvanise contributions towards equitable, sustained, and more predictable burden and responsibility sharing. These commitments, garnered through a multi-stakeholder and partnership approach, demonstrated enhanced international unity and solidarity. Participants came to the Forum from all quarters of society, representing a vibrant group of governments, refugees and host community representatives, local authorities, cities and other local actors, international organizations within and outside the United Nations system, regional organizations, humanitarian and development actors, international and regional financial institutions, parliaments, civil society organizations, faith-based actors, the private sector, media, academics, and sport and cultural organizations. This was modern multilateralism in action: the coming together of a diverse set of stakeholders to tackle comprehensively and predictably the phenomenon of mass forced displacement.
3.\ As co-hosts and co-convenors of the Forum, from different geographies and situations, we assumed a special responsibility to steer and bring together this mosaic of stakeholder groups, including refugee groups, to advance ambitious, transformational outcomes for refugees and host communities. We helped to mobilise and concentrate international political will in concluding this second Forum with a clear way forward for bringing the Global Compact on Refugees to its full potential. This was evidenced by the announcement of significant multi-stakeholder pledges.