Pledges and contributions

The Global Refugee Forum is an occasion for the international community to advance the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees by mobilizing political will, broadening the base of support, and implementing arrangements that facilitate more equitable, sustained, and predictable responsibility-sharing.

States and other stakeholders will have to opportunity to announce concrete pledges and contributions [‘contributions’] that will achieve tangible benefits for refugees and host communities.

Read the detailed guidance on the development of contributions.

How can a contribution be sent?

As of 1 June 2019, contributions may be entered online or by completing the template for pledges and contributions and sending it to [email protected]. 

States and other stakeholders are encouraged to share with UNHCR their contributions and good practices as early as possible in advance of the Global Refugee Forum. This will facilitate their collation in time for the Forum. However, as necessary, contributions may still be shared at any time in advance of or during the Forum.

Contributions will be collated for showcasing at the Global Refugee Forum and inclusion in the outcome document for the Forum.

What constitutes a contribution?

Contributions could include:

  • financial, material, or technical assistance;
  • places for resettlement and complementary pathways for admission to third countries; and
  • other actions that States and others have elected to take, for example, at the policy level through policies and practices to promote refugee inclusion, or launching a new initiative.

What are the areas of focus for contributions?

All contributions related to the Global Compact on Refugees are welcome. To provide a strategic focus and maximize the impact of the first Global Refugee Forum in 2019, contributions are encouraged in the following areas of focus:

Arrangements for burden and responsibility sharing:

  • Funding and the effective and efficient use of resources
  • Regional and sub-regional approaches
  • Support platforms
  • Data and evidence
  • Prevention and addressing root causes

Areas in need of support:

  • Education
  • Jobs and livelihoods
  • Energy and infrastructure
  • Solutions
  • Protection capacity

Within an area of focus, such as education, contributions could address:

  • a sub-theme (such as higher education);
  • a specific refugee situation (such as education in the Somalia situation); and/or
  • a specific group (such as education for girls)

What are key considerations for developing contributions?

Contributions would:

  • Support or facilitate the achievement of the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees
  • Address one or more of the areas of focus for the first Global Refugee Forum, where possible
  • Contribute to burden and responsibility sharing
  • Broaden the support base beyond countries and stakeholders that have traditionally contributed to responses to large-scale refugee situations
  • Respond to identified needs and have tangible benefits for refugees and host communities
  • Be developed and/or implemented in partnership with other stakeholders, including refugees and host populations
  • Take into account age, gender, disability, and diversity considerations
  • Make a sustained, positive difference in the lives of refugees and host communities
  • Be new or additional (which could include strengthening and building upon good practices or ongoing commitments, particularly since 2016, when the development of the Global Compact on Refugees commenced
  • Be realistic, forward-looking, specific, and action-oriented
  • Be measureable within a specified period, where possible, bearing in mind the opportunities for stocktaking in 2021 and 2023

Who can announce contributions?

  • UN Member States and observer States
  • Relevant stakeholders (such as international organizations within and outside the United Nations system, including those forming part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement; other humanitarian and development actors; international and regional financial institutions; regional organizations; local authorities; civil society, including faith-based organizations; academics and other experts; the private sector; media; host community members, and refugees themselves (Global Compact on Refugees, para. 3).

States and other stakeholders may make contributions either individually or jointly.

In the spirit of the Global Compact on Refugees, joint contributions in particular could help to focus on longer-term cooperation and to build a broad, sustainable base of support for refugees and their hosts.

Joint contributions could include:

  • Partnership contributions, where a group of States and/or other stakeholders form partnerships and announce contributions (based upon their respective capacities and areas of expertise) towards the achievement of a shared goal. For example, to support the decision of a host country to implement a policy providing refugee children with access to the national education system, donors, including other States and stakeholders, could provide the necessary additional financial, material, and technical assistance to support the implementation of this policy through funding, providing training for teachers, and building new school infrastructure.
  • Common contributions, where a coalition of States or other stakeholders would announce identical or near-identical commitments. For example, a group of States could announce that they each will include refugees in their Voluntary National Reporting for the Sustainable Development Goals. 
  • Matching contributions, where States or other stakeholders announce contributions, which would be matched in scale and scope by contributions from other stakeholders. For example, a private sector actor may pledge to contribute $10 for every $10 pledged by other entities to support a specific refugee situation.