The Refugee Crisis: Rethinking & Strengthening the Response

Date of Meeting: 18 Feb 2016

Meeting Organizer: DPI NGO

ISJC Staff Present: Luke Cozens, Robert Docter

Reporter: Robert Docter

Which SDG does this topic cover? 1, 4, 8, 10, 16, 17

Type of meeting: DPINGO Briefing

Opening Remarks – Moderator, Maher Nasser

• This crisis encompasses not just one area, but the entire world.
• Includes those fleeing lands because of environmental reasons.

Ninette Kelley, Director at UNHCR in New York

• UNHCR is working with 900 partners, with 700 on the ground on the refugee crisis.
• UNHCR provided video – showing ground coverage and present day statistics on refugees.
  • 60 million displaced, highest since WWII (60 million would actually make up the 24^th largest country in the world)
  • 2014 – 42,500 people forced to fell a day ~ 13.9 million at year’s end. This ended up being four times more than total numbers in 2013.
  • One refugee describes the voyage as “you buy death for one-thousand dollars a person”
  • By the end of 2014 – 38.2 million were internally displaced.
  • 2014 – There were 1.7 million asylum seeking applications.

Karen AbuZayd, Special Advisor on the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants

• This Summit will occur at the General Assembly in September 2016, Ms. AbuZayd was appointed this year as special advisor.
• The summit, organized by the UN, will look at:
  • Analyzing why people are leaving – from region to region
  • Mapping out the routes people are traveling – refugees, migrants, and displaced – in all parts of the world.
  • It will help communicate statistics, and call for better, more reliable forms of data collection.

Predrag Avramovic, First Counsellor, Head of Humanitarian Section, European Union (EU)

• In order for the EU to remain, it must continue moral obligation to meet refugees’ needs.
• The political strain of the refugee crisis could have significant political implications for the political stability of the European Union.
• The EU runs an operation called SOLAS (Saving Of Lives At Sea) which often rescues those trying to migrate across the Mediterranean.
• EU currently working/making new policies. In particular there are issues around the internal relocation of refugees within the EU and shared responsibility for external boarders including a coastguard.
• An important priority at the moment is border rules of the EU countries. Currently there is a “Schengen zone” allowing free movement between many European countries. New border controls may threat the existence of this zone which would have economic and political consequences for the EU.
• Dialogue between countries needs enhancement. There is a need for a coherent and enforceable policy.
• There’s currently a demographic decline of Europeans, a decline of skills workers in Europe.
• EU works towards avoiding conflict and to resolve current conflict. For issues still existent, the humanitarian needs to be met – including livelihood support and education opportunities.

Samantha Sottoli, UNICEF Representative

• UNHCR statistic – Middle East has 4.7 million refugees, where half are children. 
• South Sudan’s 223,000 refugees are 2/3 children.
• UNICEF’s work on the ground includes:
  • Coordination, capacity building, and developing protocols
  • Working towards getting kids back into school
  • Instilling rapid family tracing (RFT) efforts
  • Psychosocial support services - child friendly spaces, water and sanitation, food and nutrition.
• UNICEF and UNHCR working together in seeking out this population, and working to educating them on the services applicable for them.
• UNICEF is currently facing the following barriers in this issue:
  • Political issues of the countries prohibiting work and help
  • Reliable data collecting tools and information.
  • Providing rapid and timely services. i.e. refugee children are constantly moving in some cases.

Regarding future plans, UNICEF is working towards a global program strategy, for further advocacy work on the crisis à fighting for 3 ultimate goals:

1. Making it a duty of all states to protect children before, during, and after their journey. 
2. Children are the first peoples treated in any circumstance.
3. Principle of family unity – no child should be separated from his/her family.

Neil Grungras, Executive Director at ORAM (Organization for Refugee, Asylum, and Migration)

• He skyped in the meeting, living at the heart of the crisis in Turkey
• ORAM works specifically with LGBTQI refugees around the world – a group of people prone to additional violence, lack of services, and danger.
• Works with others NGOs and UN agencies in providing services to refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants.