World Refugee Council’s Interim Report

Today, the World Refugee Council released Transforming the Global Refugee System: Solidarity, Humanity and Accountability, a report outlining the findings of the Council to date in their work to offer bold solutions to the global refugee crisis.

As the number of refugees around the world continues to grow, more individuals are being forced to flee their homes in search of safety and face longer periods of exile than ever before. Yet neither the governments responsible for causing refugee movements nor those who break their promises to help the world’s most vulnerable are always being held accountable.

After consultations with government representatives, civil society actors and experts across the globe, the World Refugee Council is identifying ways to promote cooperation, strengthen political accountability, enhance funding sources and deploy technology to overcome the systemic failures of the current global refugee system.

“What we’ve learned is that political leadership is desperately needed,” said Lloyd Axworthy, Chair of the World Refugee Council. “There’s little accountability for those regimes or groups responsible for causing refugee crises and financial support for refugees and their host communities is chronically inadequate. As a result, host states often feel abandoned as they shoulder the weight of assisting refugees.”

The World Refugee Council also releases a new discussion paper — Keeping the Promise: Three Proposed Accountability Mechanisms for the Global Refugee Regime — that proposes global governing bodies to monitor and track compliance with commitments made by governments in response to the global refugee crisis. These bodies would seek to increase the engagement of donors, as well as the cooperation and compliance of states, and to ensure a more predictable funding system.

This is the first in a series of discussion papers meant to support the official recommendations in the Council’s final report expected in 2019.

“States and leaders must be accountable for their actions,” continued Mr. Axworthy. “By focusing on improving accountability, ensuring the availability of financing, the World Refugee Council is promoting reform of the global system that has so often failed both refugees and those states hosting them.”

Read the full report on CIGI’s website.