Matching Pledges

Every four years, States and other actors come together to share good practices and pledge to contribute with financial support, technical expertise, and policy commitments to help reach the goals of the Global Compact on Refugees and bring positive changes in the lives of refugees.  

Matching is the process of identifying pledges as material, financial and/or policy opportunities to be paired with others sharing the same objectives. The aim of this exercise is to support the implementation of commitments made at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) at the global, regional, and national levels. 

Pledging entities could, for example, be considered as either donors – private companies or states offering financial support – or host communities. The latter could pledge to make policy commitments to improve protection and facilitate the inclusion of refugees. These pledges would then be paired with financial pledges from donors and/or technical expertise. Matching relevant pledges with each other supports the implementation of pledges, particularly in countries where financial, material, and technical resources and capacities remain scarce.  

How does matching work? 

States, UN agencies, NGOs, the private sector, and other submitting entities can identify possible matches to their pledges – all of which are available on the Pledges Dashboard. UNHCR can also identify matching opportunities and share them with the relevant pledging entities for their consideration. While matching can take place bilaterally between two stakeholders, UNHCR can also act as a facilitator and coordinator of discussions between pledging entities as deemed necessary and appropriate.

A successful match: the tea plantation project pledge by Rwanda

At the Global Refugee Forum, the Government of Rwanda made a policy pledge to create innovative, climate-smart jobs in the agricultural sector. Following the Forum, the Government of Denmark made a financial pledge to support Rwanda’s jobs and livelihoods project. Denmark reached out to UNHCR, which acted as facilitator in this matching process. As a result, Denmark announced that USD 1.5 million will benefit 1,883 households, 728 of which are refugee households, over a 3-year period.