19 November 2015: The UN General Assembly (UNGA) held an informal meeting on advancing a comprehensive response to the global humanitarian and refugee crisis. Participants discussed: providing protection including through third-country resettlement; ensuring adequate and predictable financing; and increasing support to receiving countries. Many said it is not possible to continue business-as-usual in humanitarian affairs, and welcomed the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit.
During his opening remarks at the meeting, which took place on 19 November 2015, in New York, US, UNGA President Mogens Lykketoft said the meeting was organized because over 60 million of the world’s most vulnerable people – over half of whom are children – have been forced from their homes and are in desperate need of assistance, and the response from the international community has been “ad hoc and inadequate.”
Referring to the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut, and Nigeria among other places, Jan Eliasson, UN Deputy Secretary-General, called for finding a balance between security needs and moral obligations, and for managing migrations properly. He added that those who flee violence must not be punished again once they have migrated.
Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said a global humanitarian and refugee crisis of the current magnitude has not been seen since World War II, and more than 90% of refugees are from developing countries.
Stephen O’Brien, UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, reported that displaced people are an easy target for exploitation and violence, including sexual violence. Noting that climate change is a major cause of displacement, O’Brien said these links will be discussed during the Paris Climate Change Conference (COP21) and the World Humanitarian Summit, taking place in Istanbul, Turkey, from 23-24 May 2016.
Some participants made reference to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, observed that the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDG) targets make “little mention of those caught up in conflicts.” He expressed hope that the World Humanitarian Summit will provide an opportunity to operationalize the SDGs and link humanitarian issues with the Goals. Mahmoud Mohieldin, World Bank, said implementation of 2030 Agenda should minimize the likelihood of having another crisis “like the one we are living in,” noting that the Agenda addresses the “policy, finance and effective partnerships” nexus.
On financing, several participants highlighted the lack of funding to tackle effectively the refugee crisis, and welcomed the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing. Kristalina Georgieva, Co-Chair of the Panel and European Commission Vice-President, stressed the need to consider “untapped resources,” including financial innovation, and said the “missing part” is the private sector, which she said “does much for the world, but not much for the most vulnerable people.” Others called for long-term financing and for tracking aid more carefully, with some noting the importance not of “how much we spend,” but “how we spend,” financial resources. Participants also outlined the need for political will. One said humanitarian progress is “a matter of mindset, not only money.”
Participants also called for: defending the status of refugees in international law and the resettlement right; increasing transparency and accountability in the how donors, international organizations and countries respond to the needs of refugees, including women and girls; making distinctions between migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, and terrorists; ensuring a protective environment for refugees, as well as the right to education and the safety of children; registering children born in receiving countries to avoid issues regarding their citizenship; moving from silos to synergies between humanitarian and development work; and supporting a resilience-based approach.
Among the UN Member States who took the floor, Sweden said his country takes asylum responsibility with 120,000 applicants received since 1 January 2015, of which 40,000 are unaccompanied children. Afghanistan warned against adopting a “forceful return” policy in receiving countries, as this could increase radicalism in the country of origin. Canada said his country will resettle 25,000 refugees, and announced a donation of US$100 million to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
The informal meeting followed the UN Secretary-General’s high-level event on ‘Strengthening cooperation on migration and refugee movements in the perspective of the new development agenda’ on 30 September 2015, and the eighth Summit Meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), and preceded the UNGA’s formal meeting on ‘Global awareness of the tragedies of irregular migrants in the Mediterranean basin, with specific emphasis on Syrian asylum seekers,’ on 20 November 2015. [IISD RS Sources] [UNGA President Letter and Concept Note] [UNGA President Letter and Event Programme] [UNGA President Opening Remarks] [Event Webcast] [IISD RS Story on Eighth Summit Meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development] [IISD RS Story on UN Secretary-General High-Level Meeting on Strengthening Cooperation on Migration and Refugee Movements in the Perspective of the New Development Agenda] [Appointment of High-level Panel on Humanitarian Financing] [IISD RS Story on UNGA Formal Meeting, 20 November] [Chair’s Summary of Informal Meeting, Released 23 December]