Welcome, support, pledge, resettle: responsibility sharing in the Global Compact on Refugees

In 2018, less than 5% of people identified as needing resettlement by UNHCR were resettled – just 0.2% of the global refugee population. Four-fifths of refugees live in neighbouring states. The 2019 Global Refugee Forum offers an opportunity for states to live up to their commitment to equitable and predictable responsibility sharing.

There is no single formula for responsibility sharing. This paper sets out a menu of policy options available to governments as they gather in Geneva. It calls for refugees to be meaningfully included in discussions and decisions about their future, and for higher-income countries to do their fair share by increasing their commitments to resettlement, humanitarian admissions and family reunification.