Northern Europe turns solidarity into action
States and stakeholders in Northern Europe are showing Solidarity in Action at the Global Refugee Forum by pledging to create solutions in the region and beyond – and strengthen support for refugees and their host communities.
© UNHCR/Antoine Tardy
The world is coming together in Geneva for the Global Refugee Forum, 16-18 December to take stock, mobilize action and make bold pledges towards an improved global refugee response.
It’s a unique and landmark opportunity to create new and strong partnerships, find innovative solutions, and strengthen the overall support to both refugees and host communities, thus ensuring inclusive approaches and building refugees’ self-relieance.
Find here some of the pledges coming from the Northern Europe region – both from states, NGOs, civil society and other stakeholders, pledging alone or jointly with partners including across borders and sectors. A full overview can be found at UNHCR’s pledge dashboard here.
🇱🇹 Lithuania pledges to continue its engagement in voluntary resettlement initiatives
Lithuania has so far been the only country in Northern Europe to participate in the temporary disembarkation mechanism from the Mediterranean, relocating refugees and migrants, disembarked in Malta and Greece. Lithuania commits to continue its engagement in these relocation efforts.
🇳🇴 The Norwegian Refugee Council increases its engagement in Eastern Africa
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) pledges to advance its multi-stakeholder engagement to sustain solutions locally, nationally and regionally in the East and Horn of Africa Region.
🇩🇰 Denmark pledges to support education for refugee children in Uganda and Ethiopia
Denmark will support the inclusion of refugee children in national school systems in both Uganda and Ethiopia, and contributes with 35 million DKK to the efforts in each country. Press release from Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs here. The support to refugee children in Ethiopia is part of a joint pledge with Global Partnership for Education, the government of Ethiopia and with support from also the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Read more about the project here.
🇮🇸 Iceland pledges to increase its refugee resettlement quota
This year, 75 refugees were resettled in Iceland as part of the Government’s resettlement programme that has seen an increase already, and in proportion to Iceland’s population size, these are significant figures. Iceland pledges to increase the resettlement quota by 33 percent in the next two years.
🇫🇮 Finland pleges to increase its resettlement quota
The Finnish Government, by the Ministry of Interior, states that the number of quota refugees will be increased to a minimum of 850 in 2020. This number will thereafter be assessed annually and set at 850–1,050.
🇱🇹 Lithuania pledges to integrate refugees into the labour market
Lithuania pledges to amend the law to start integrating asylum seekers into the labour market in the first instance of their asylum stage after six months have passed.
🇪🇪 Estonia pledges to increase its cooperation with UNHCR on digital identification
Estonia will provide increased technical support and assistance, and also help considering how trusted digital identities for refugees can contribute to achieving the goals of the Global Compact on Refugees. Digital innovative solutions could be applied in all the six focus areas of the Global Refugee Forum.
🇫🇮 Cross-thematic pledge on mainstreaming disability in protection and humanitarian assistance.
As submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland will support the organization of strengthening disability efforts through enhanced technical capacity in the form of funding a Junior Professional Officer (JPO) to join one of UNHCR’s Regional Bureaus.
🇱🇹 Lithuania pledges to establish Lithuania Refugees Support Network
The network involves relevant stakeholders in order to provide alternative integration and build effective refugees advocacy (civil society + private sector + local authorities). Civil society in Lithuania brings together the private sector and local authorities to strengthen the integration support for refugees in Lithuania by establishing this support network. In addition, Lithuania pledges to enhance cooperation of institutions dealing with integration.
🇳🇴 🇸🇪 Pledge from UNESCO supported by Sweden and Norway to strengthen national education systems and ensure refugee inclusion
UNESCO, with the support of the Governments of Sweden, Norway and Switzerland together with Education Cannot Wait, Dubai Cares and the Global Partnership for Education, pledges to strengthen national education systems by providing member states with expertise and technical guidance for policy design, implementation and planning support for the inclusion of refugees into all levels of national education systems. Click here to read the press release from UNESCO.
🇳🇴 Norway pledges to increase resettlement quota
Norway is pledging to increase the country’s resettlement quota to 3.000 refugees next year.
🇳🇴 Financial pledge from Norway
Norway will provide consistent humanitarian efforts worldwide with a specific allocation of 1 billion NOK to end and address sexual and gender-based violence.
🇩🇰 Denmark partners with Germany to ensure refugees access to higher education
Denmark pledges support to the Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative (DAFI), the largest global higher education scholarship program for refugees. In 2019, 8,000 students in 54 countries have been part of the DAFI-program and with Denmark’s contribution of DKK 10 million, more refugee students can be awarded scholarships and thus increasing the number of refugees enrolled in university from the current 3 percent worldwide. Press release here.
🇩🇰 Pledge from LEGO Foundation to strengthen resilience and skills for children in Ethiopia and Uganda
The Foundation has granted USD 100 million for play-based learning solutions for pre-primary and primary school-aged children impacted by the protracted humanitarian crises in East Africa. The initiative, called PlayMatters, will help build social, emotional, cognitive, physical and creative skills, and it’s estimated to improve education outcomes for approximately 800,000 children. Press release here.
🇸🇪 Several pledges from Sweden
Sweden pledges to remain a significant contributor of unearmarked and flexible funding to strengthen UNHCR’s efforts globally. Sweden also commits to enhance inclusion of refugees in local and national education systems.
🇩🇰 Financial pledge from Denmark to strengthen resilience to climate change
Denmark pledges 200 million DKK per year for five years to strengthen affected communities’ resilience to climate change in the Sahel region and the Horn of Africa. The programme aims to avoid, minimize or address the effects of climate change in fragile situations, including as a driver of fragility, conflict, displacement and irregular migration.
🇱🇹 Pledge from Lithuanian University to provide refugees and asylum-seekers free access to higher education
The Mykolas Romeris University in Vilnius, Lithuania, pledges to assist asylum-seekers and refugees with higher education opportunities, providing free access. Press release here.
🇸🇪 Pledge from Sweden to reduce negative impact on climate
Sweden pledges to reduce the negative impacts on the climate and environment in the response to refugee situations, including through funding and support to refugees for phasing out fossil fuels with a grant of 40 million SEK.
🇫🇮 Financial pledge from Finland
Finland pledges to increase funding to the Finnish Immigration Services as well as the level of funding for the humanitarian assistance as stated in the Finnish government program.
🇩🇰 🇳🇴 🇸🇪 Denmark, Norway and Sweden pledge the acceptance of UNHCR’s Clean Energy Challenge
Denmark, Norway and Sweden will all accept UNHCR’s Clean Energy Challenge and support the ambition that “all refugee settlements and nearby host communities will have access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy by 2030”. This is a joint pledge with other states and stakeholders, expressing political support to the Clean Energy Challenge, which may be supplemented by additional, individual pledges to the Challenge.
🇩🇰 Pledge by Danish Refugee Council to support the Asylum Capacity Support Group
The Danish NGO pledges to support the ACSG mechanism in order to increase protection capacity by offering technical support on legal aid in asylum procedures and capacity building to national actors, including legal aid providers and national authorities.
🇩🇰 🇫🇮 🇳🇴 🇸🇪 Pledges from IKEA Retail (Ingka Group), Inter IKEA Group and IKEA Foundation to support refugees’ path to self-reliance
The IKEA family commits with three pledges to help refugees become part of their host communities. IKEA Retail will support 2,500 refugees through job training and language skills initiatives in 300 stores in 30 different countries before 2022. Inter IKEA Group will in partnership with Jordan River Foundation ensure sustainable livelihoods for 400 women. Lastly, IKEA Foundation has pledged EUR 100 million in grants over the next five years for programmes to promote and build refugee self-reliance. Click here for press release.
🇩🇰 Pledge from Novo Nordisk Foundation to create better opportunities and future prospects for Syrian refugees in Jordan
Novo Nordisk Foundation has awarded grants of more than DKK 200 million to three long-term projects in Jordan. The two main objectives are to strengthen competencies of young Syrian refugees through education and hereby increasing their potential to participate in the labour market, and to ensure that refugees and other vulnerable groups in Jordan can access better services for preventing diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Press release here.
🇱🇹 Financial pledges from Lithuania
Lithuania commits to contribute 50,000 EUR in unearmarked support to UNHCR as well as 50,000 EUR in humanitarian aid to Rohingya Refugees.
🇮🇸 Financial pledges from Iceland
Iceland pledges to contribute with an unearmarked allocation to UNHCR’s Global Appeal 2020 amounting to 25 million ISK. The allocation will be disbursed at the end of December 2019. In addition, Iceland is committing to a multi-year general agreement for four years (2020-2023) of USD 500,000 in unearmarked funding each year.
🇩🇰 Denmark pledges to resume resettlement and invest in durable solutions
Denmark pledges to resume resettlement of refugees and to prioritize investment in ongoing durable solutions programmes. Denmark announces that it intends to resettle a small group of refugees with serious needs in 2019, and this will be followed by an annual resettlement programme of up to 500 refugees yearly.
🇸🇪 Joint pledge from SIDA, UNHCR and Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation to promote access to financial services for refugees and host communities in Uganda
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, UNHCR and Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation launch a four year program to promote access to financial and non-financial services for refugees and host communities in Uganda. Click here to read the full Press Release.
🇸🇪 Sweden pledges to uphold its increased resettlement quota
Last year Sweden raised the resettlement quota from 3,000 to 5,000 refugees yearly, and Sweden is pledging to uphold this increased resettlement quota next year as well.
🇩🇰 Danish Refugee Council pledges to strengthen protection capacity and legal aid infrastructure
The NGO Danish Refugee Council (DRC) commits to support the strengthening of protection institutions and protection capacities in order to enhance refugee protection and well-being. This will be achieved through a number of measures, including by developing legal aid staff capacity, ensuring legal aid advisory at both global, regional and national levels as well as partnering with local legal aid stakeholders.
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