Geneva – Greater international responsibility sharing and more effective measures to support refugees and host communities are needed. Governments and partners participating in the Global Refugee Forum on 13 December 2023 in Geneva recognized the importance for investing in development and peacebuilding to tackle the drivers and to enable solutions to forced displacement. 

At the end of September 2023, there were over 114 million people forcibly displaced worldwide, 28 percent more than when the first Global Refugee Forum was held in 2019 (UNHCR). Fragile contexts host 64 percent of the world’s forcibly displaced population. And 78 percent of all forcibly displaced persons have fled fragile contexts (OECD).

At the opening ceremony of the second Global Refugee Forum, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Ms. Kamikawa Yoko said, “To support both the forcibly displaced and host community members in realizing their dreams, Japan has launched the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus multi-stakeholder pledge as a platform for collaboration among donor and host countries, international organizations, and other actors.”  The Minister invited a variety of stakeholders to join the HDP Nexus pledge. 

A high level side event “The Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus in Contexts of Forced Displacement” was co-hosted by Japan, UNHCR and UNDP on 14 December with governments and humanitarian and development partners including UN agencies, civil society, refugees. The Deputy High Commissioner for Refugee, Ms. Kelly Clements, moderated the discussion. 

Speakers at the event included Dr. Tanaka Akihiko, President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Mr. Haoliang Xu, UNDP Associate Administrator. 

Dr. Tanaka said, “We are in the midst of humanitarian crises: in Gaza, Ukraine, the Sahel and many others. These crises cannot be addressed with emergency humanitarian aid alone. Development and peace actors need to join forces with humanitarians to deal with the complicated challenge of protracted displacement, address root causes and prevent future crises. To this end, promoting the whole of society approach and supporting host countries are critical.”

Mr. Xu said, “Peace, development and the fulfilment of humanitarian needs cannot resolve historic levels of forced displacement without one another. The Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus is not new, but the Global Refugee Forum pledge can translate collective commitments into action and ensure better support for refugees and the communities that host them.”

The high level side event marked a milestone in breaking the silos between humanitarian, development and peace actors, and in enhancing international collective efforts in addressing humanitarian crises through Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus approaches. 

Supporters of the multi-stakeholder pledge have signed up to taking action including easing the pressure on host communities, enhancing self-reliance, creating a conducive environment for safe, dignified and voluntary return. 

The pledge embodies the whole-of-society approach and serves as platform where each actor can contribute its respective capabilities to support the achievement of the Global Compact on Refugees towards the next Global Refugee Forum.

For more information, contact: 

• Aimee Brown: aimee.brown@undp.org
• Patrick Nicholson: patrick.nicholson@undp.org
• Sarah Bel: sarah.bel@undp.org