Global Vision Note
Global Vision Note for a new Partnership between the Government of Netherlands, IFC, ILO, UNHCR, UNICEF and the World Bank
The forced displacement crisis has increased in scale and complexity in recent years. According to UNHCR, there were about 65 million forcibly displaced persons at the end of 2016, of whom about 24 million refugees and asylum-seekers. Forced displacement is increasingly protracted and disproportionally affects children: one in two refugees worldwide is a child. The overwhelming majority of the forcibly displaced are hosted in developing countries with limited resources and capacities to respond to the situations – with substantive socioeconomic impacts on both refugees and host communities.
Action is urgently needed to mitigate the plight of both forcibly displaced persons and hosting communities. Humanitarian assistance is critical, but insufficient when situations become protracted, and they need to be complemented by a development approach that is focused on the medium- and long-term socioeconomic dimensions of the crisis. This is in line with the global effort to “leave no-one behind” and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): refugees and their hosts are among the most vulnerable and ‘furthest behind’ groups.
The proposed Partnership aims to join the partners’ efforts to develop a new paradigm in responding to forced displacement crises through the involvement of development actors. Partners include The Government of the Netherlands, International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Bank (WB).
The Partnership aims to help transform the way governments and other stakeholders, including the private sector, respond to forced displacement crises – and in particular:
Action is urgently needed to mitigate the plight of both forcibly displaced persons and hosting communities. Humanitarian assistance is critical, but insufficient when situations become protracted, and they need to be complemented by a development approach that is focused on the medium- and long-term socioeconomic dimensions of the crisis. This is in line with the global effort to “leave no-one behind” and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): refugees and their hosts are among the most vulnerable and ‘furthest behind’ groups.
The proposed Partnership aims to join the partners’ efforts to develop a new paradigm in responding to forced displacement crises through the involvement of development actors. Partners include The Government of the Netherlands, International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Bank (WB).
The Partnership aims to help transform the way governments and other stakeholders, including the private sector, respond to forced displacement crises – and in particular:
- to enhance the enabling environment for the socio-economic inclusion of forcibly displaced persons (to mitigate their plight during years of exile and to best prepare them for their return);
- to enhance access to education and child protection for vulnerable children on the move; and
- to strengthen the resilience of host communities through inclusive socio-economic development that also benefits forcibly displaced persons.