James Milner, LERRN Project Director, Mustafa Alio, Managing Director, and , R-SEAT Co-managing Director, have co-authored Meaningful Refugee Participation: An Emerging Norm in the Global Refugee Regime in , the peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal from Oxford University Press. The full article is available for download here:

The article was published in Volume 41, Issue 4 of Refugee Survey Quarterly in December 2022:

Abstract

On October 3rd, 2022, the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations and R-SEAT (Refugees Seeking Equal Access at the Table) hosted a hybrid roundtable discussion, with some 100 participants joining in person in New York or virtually via Zoom.

Accountability and participation are now understood as central to collective action in response to most global human-centered issues. The same is true in discussions of responses to the needs of refugees. When the UN General Assembly affirmed the Global Compact on Refugees in 2018, it acknowledged that “responses are most effective when they actively and meaningfully engage those they are intended to protect and assist.”

The roundtable discussed how to implement this commitment from the Global Compact on Refugees, recognizing that meaningful refugee participation is becoming an important norm in the international refugee system. Speakers and participants considered “lessons learned” from recent efforts to promote meaningful refugee participation in the governance of the international refugee system, including the practice of having refugee delegates as part of Member State delegations to meeting of the international refugee system, and the establishment of new Refugee Advisory Councils. They also reflected on how meaningful refugee participation can make global responses to displacement more legitimate and effective.

Among the presenters were the Honourable Bob Rae, Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations; Mustafa Alio, Managing Director of R-SEAT; and Leah Zamore, Associate Director, Humanitarian Policy at the Center on International Cooperation (CIC). LERRN Director James Milner moderated the roundtable discussion.

LERRN is pleased to present the following Event Report in collaboration with R-SEAT entitled “From Accountability to Meaningful Participation: Refugees & the Governance of International Refugee Responses.”

Event details and recordings available here.

Detalles del evento y interpretaciĂłn en espaĂąol se pueden encontrar aquĂ­.

DĂŠtails de l’ĂŠvĂŠnement et interprĂŠtation en français sont disponibles ici.

On 21 January 2021, the (LERRN) and the (IDRC) co-hosted the second webinar panel for the North American component of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) virtual conference: , commemorating the 70^th anniversary of the UNHCR. It focused on the role of North American states within the global refugee regime: the international institutions and structures set up to respond to refugee issues around the world. A total of 249 viewers tuned in to the panels from 18 countries, spanning from North and South America to as far as Europe and East Africa. The second panel featured distinguished speakers: the Honourable Ambassador Bob Rae, Mustafa Alio, Jennifer Bond, Elizabeth Ferris, Ana Macouzet and Leah Zamore. It was co-moderated by James Milner, Project Director of LERRN, and Julie Crowley, IDRC’s Regional Director for Central and West Africa.

Each of the panelists reflected on important issues about power relations and political contexts, which significantly impact how the refugee regime is able to respond to refugees. The panelists considered how North American states (Canada, the US, and Mexico) can work with other actors to think about important questions and challenges facing the refugee regime today. Some of these actors include refugee representatives, the private sector, academics, NGOs, and local or regional governments. The panel considered a variety of bold questions: how to promote refugee inclusion and leadership, how to respond to displacement caused by climate change, and how to address gaps in protecting people displaced within their own countries (IDPs). The panelists proposed innovative ideas that link humanitarian assistance, international development, and peacebuilding.

A key recommendation was the need to address the root causes of forced displacement, particularly the political factors that are at the heart of conflict and longstanding refugee crises. The Honourable Bob Rae, Canada’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, remarked that “no matter how much money we give to UNHCR, there is no humanitarian solution to the humanitarian crises we see around the world.” Instead, the causes of displacement are political, environmental, and economic. Panelists urged the actors in the regime to have the courage to tackle these underlying crises causing displacement through the UN system and beyond.

Acknowledging that refugee situations are increasingly long-term rather than short-term emergencies, the panel emphasized the need to prioritize refugee voices, experiences, and leadership. Ambassador Bob Rae stressed that “being a refugee and being stateless should not mean you are voiceless or that you are not heard.” The Ambassador argued that humanitarian assistance needs to be paired with opportunities for work and education. Otherwise, “we are treating people as objects, not as subjects.” Mustafa Alio, who made history as the first Refugee Advisor in the Canadian delegation at an international refugee meeting, highlighted that “UNHCR needs to transition from merely consulting with refugees to an equal partnership with refugees in creating solutions.” With dwindling resources for humanitarian assistance due to donor fatigue and a higher number of displaced people, the refugee regime needs to find better ways to use limited resources. Alio argued that an important lesson learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is that refugee-led organizations are valuable partners in delivering cost-effective humanitarian assistance. They also provide a unique perspective informed by the experiences of those directly affected by displacement.

In addition to refugee-led organizations, community organizations like sponsorship groups have been important in providing solutions for refugees beyond the actions of governments. Professor Jennifer Bond, who leads the University of Ottawa Refugee Hub and the Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative, highlighted the importance of rebuilding public support for refugee protection. Community sponsorship allows citizens to get involved directly with refugee protection and to become advocates for welcoming policies. UNHCR’s attention to public support is crucial to counter negative portrayals of refugees. Indeed, as Julie Crowley pointed out, one of the major issues is “the growing negative and toxic narrative about refugees and the forcibly displaced. A lot needs to be done to counter misinformation and break down the unfounded myths about these vulnerable populations. Again, this should only be done in partnership with refugees and refugee communities.”

On the subject of protection, Professor Beth Ferris drew attention to groups of displaced people who currently do not benefit from refugee status and as a result are outside of the global refugee system. That includes Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and those displaced by environmental and climate-related factors. UNHCR should expand efforts to examine gaps, develop inclusive strategies, and engage development actors so that individuals who do not qualify for refugee status may still be supported. Ana Macouzet, Senior Policy Advisor at Open Society Foundations (OSF), emphasized the importance of promoting regional cooperation between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. She called current approaches to migration management in the region ineffective and inhumane. Working together, these countries can discuss common interests related to migration and strengthen refugee protection across the region.

Leah Zamore, Director of the Humanitarian Crises program at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation (CIC), provided a valuable lesson from history on how the U.S.-funded Marshall Plan helped rebuild Europe after World War II. According to Zamore, “this sort of economic vision that went behind the Marshall Plan” is needed today to assist major refugee-hosting countries. Zamore proposed that North American countries could leverage their participation in international financial institutions to support refugee-hosting countries by offering debt relief or financial stimulus packages.

The speakers agreed that while the COVID-19 pandemic has been catastrophic, it provides a unique opportunity to learn from North America’s history and reflect on opportunities going forward. Through US funding for UNHCR, resettlement and community sponsorships, participation in the UNHCR’s governance structure, and recognition of gender-based persecution, North America has played a critical role beyond the North American region. The resounding conclusion was that there is no better time than the present to begin casting a vision for refugee protection in the coming years. Following President Joe Biden’s inauguration, there is a new opportunity to incorporate international displacement issues in post-pandemic recovery plans. Recognizing that 85% of the world’s refugees are hosted in the Global South, North America can support and engage with host countries in the Global South as partners. Through bold ideas and creative thinking, UNHCR can seize the opportunity of the current moment to work with governments, civil society actors, and refugees to improve responses to displacement.

This report was prepared by Rawan Youssef, LERRN Social Media & Communications Officer, with assistance from Sohaila Khaliqyar, LERRN Project Communications and Social Media Coordinator, and Rachel McNally, LERRN Knowledge Mobilization and Translation Officer.

These panels and the LERRN-IDRC Webinar Series on Forced Displacement are coordinated by Jennifer Kandjii, LERRN Research Officer. For further information or ideas please contact us here.

To read the report on Panel 1, “Realizing protection and solutions within North America,” click here.

]]> /lerrn/2021/how-can-refugee-participation-enhance-refugee-education-lessons-from-lerrn/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-can-refugee-participation-enhance-refugee-education-lessons-from-lerrn Mon, 08 Feb 2021 18:40:35 +0000 /lerrn/?p=3192 On 8 February 2021, Canada’s Minister of International Development, the Honourable , announced the “Together for Learning” campaign, a new to enhance access to education for refugee and other forcibly displaced children and youth. This three-year campaign will seek to “promote quality education and lifelong learning for refugees, forcibly displaced and host-community children and youth.”

The campaign with focus on four key areas:

• Advancing the principles of the 2018 G7 on quality education for girls, adolescent girls and women in developing countries, especially in contexts of fragility, crisis, and conflict;
• Amplifying local voices in the planning, delivery and evaluation of education programming, to be realized through the launch of the ;
• Diplomatic engagement to build support for the initiative; and,
• Improving the “quality, availability and use of data to guide efforts and ensure effectiveness.”

These are important and timely goals. Building on the broad support for refugee education evident during the in December 2019, but in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that has had a profound impact on the ability of refugees to access quality education, this initiative has the potential to make an important contribution – not only to refugee education, but also to demonstrating the level of collection action and international solidarity envisioned by the 2018 .

From rhetoric to reality

To implement these ideas, will soon issue a call for proposals for Canadian organizations to partner with actors in sub-Saharan Africa to develop programs that will improve learning outcomes and to improve the capacity of local organizations.

As organizations prepare for the details of the call, this is a critical moment to review the evidence from recent experience on what it will take to turn these objectives into reality.

To deliver on the objectives of this initiative, organizations will need to navigate not only the critical issues relating to refugee education, but also the meaning and practice of refugee participation and localization.

These are issues that have been central to the work of the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN) for the past three years. Through the LERRN-IDRC webinar series, we have brought partners together to critically examine refugee education, refugee participation, and the challenging of leveraging diplomatic engagement to enhance cooperation with and for refugees. These issues have been central to the work of our partners in East Africa and the Middle East, along with our collaborative work with refugee leaders.

Here are some of the key lessons from this work and some evidence to help guide discussions on the implementation of the important goals of the Together for Learning campaign.

Refugee education

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted many of the challenges and inequalities experienced by refugees in seeking to access quality education. In the context of and Jordan, research has highlighted how inequalities of legal status and economic means compound the disadvantages faced by refugees.

These constraints and realities, however, long pre-date the pandemic. Research by LERRN’s partners, the Dadaab Response Association, has detailed the factors that lie at the core of these inequalities, not only between refugees and host communities but also between male and female refugees. In their paper on female dropout rates in secondary schools in Dadaab, for example, Arte Saman Dagane and Abdullahi Yussuf Aden highlight how a range of factors influence the decision of female students to drop-out of school. In response, they propose a comprehensive range of interventions in schools, communities, and in policy discussions to reverse the trend.

These issues highlight the political and policy context within which refugee education needs to be understood. Research in Jordan on the transition from education to employment by Yasmeen Shahzadeh, for example, highlights the need to approach education in the context of opportunities post-graduation to motivate learners to remain in school.

Moreover, the Lead of LERRN’s Working Group in Lebanon, Maha Shuayb, has led important research in recent years on the meaning of refugee education, the gaps between refugee education and broader educational efforts, and the critical importance of having a long-term vision of the objectives of refugee education. In the absence of such a vision, Dr. Shuayb cautions that refugee education can disempower refugees, not empower them.

Meaningful refugee participation

The COVID pandemic has also highlighted the critical role that can and should play in improving humanitarian responses. To this end, the central role of the in Canada’s new initiative is of critical importance. But what makes the participation of refugees and other displaced persons meaningful?

This question has been central to LERRN’s work since the policy dialogue we hosted with the at the University of Ottawa in September 2019. These discussions contributed to LERRN Advisor Mustafa Alio being named as Refugee Advisor to the Delegation of Canada to the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva in December 2019. This represented an important step forward in the objective of ensuring that refugees can engage in a direct and meaningful way in global policy discussions that are intended to benefit them. To continue this work, LERRN was proud to support the launch of the Refugee Advisory Network in June 2020.

Our work on refugee participation highlights that for refugee participation to be meaningful it must be substantive, sustained and substantial. For participation to be substantive, it must mean that input from refugees must have the potential to make a measurable difference in the outcomes of a process. For participation to be sustained, it must include refugee participation in the design, implementation and evaluation of policies and programs. And for participation to be substantial, it must ensure that refugees are able to participate in sufficient numbers to bring diverse and representative views while also equipping and empowering refugees to participate with the skills and background information that places them on par with counterparts around the table.

Advancing refugee participation also means addressing the barriers that have typically constrained the role that refugees could play in shaping policy and practice.

These elements should be included in the design of refugee participation in the planning of programs to implement the Together for Learning campaign. As argued by Mohamed Duale in his research on refugee participation in Kenya, to make refugee participation meaningful, policymakers need to “embed safeguards and protections into refugee participation processes to legitimate and allow refugees and refugee-led organizations to be heard and have their views meaningfully considered.”

Indeed, as highlighted by the LERRN-IDRC webinar on refugee leadership, this is the time to deliver on global commitments to meaningful refugee participation. In affirming the in December 2018, states, including Canada, affirmed that “responses are most effective when they actively and meaningfully engage those they are intended to protect and assist.”

Canada’s leadership on refugee education provides a tangible moment to deliver on this commitment. As noted by Malual Bol Kiir, Refugee Advisor to Canada’s Delegation to the 2020 meeting of UNHCR’s Executive Committee and Member of the Refugee Education Council, “by integrating the expertise of refugees, Canada can lead other donor countries by example.”

Localization

Just as the Together for Learning campaign can help deliver on commitments to refugee participation, it can also help deliver on commitments in the to support and empower local actors. For nearly two decades, we have known that the structures and approaches of international humanitarian responses tend to , while local actors remain best placed to navigate the of refugee responses.

In fact, the combination of refugee perspectives and local actor expertise can, as argued by , create meaningful opportunities for change. Yet while desirable, is neither easy nor uncontested. It goes well beyond directing additional resources to national non-governmental organizations to deliver services.

The results of LERRN’s research in Kenya and Tanzania, for example, illustrate the range of interests and factors that need to be overcome to address the power imbalances between local and international actors.

In Kenya, research by Akalya Atputharajah and Javans Wanga highlights how localization has led to better training for humanitarian workers and an increase in the number of local staff working with international NGOs and sharing their nuanced understanding of local contexts. But this does not mean a transfer of power and decision making, as international NGOs remain the key partners of UNHCR, with national NGOs squarely on the periphery. The relationship between international and national NGOs remains profoundly imbalanced, and a missed opportunity to ensure that the expertise and experience of local NGOs are part of a collective response.

The localization means transferring the power to set agendas and make decisions from the exclusive domain of large, international humanitarian actors to include national and local organizations, many of whom have been on the frontlines of humanitarian responses for decades. It is only through such a shift that the knowledge and expertise of local actors can fully contribute to better protection and solutions, especially in light of very complex and nuanced local and national political realities.

These lessons need to guide all Canadian organizations that seek to collaborate with local partners to implement the Together for Learning campaign.

Diplomatic engagement

Finally, it is critical that the launch of the Together for Learning campaign highlighted the need for diplomatic engagement to advance its objectives. Refugee responses do not occur in a political vacuum, and leadership on refugee issues means engaging with the interests and actors that define the space within which responses can be best advanced.

The need for diplomatic engagement is reinforced by the constraints inherent in the design and itself. But there are encouraging signs of change. With the in mobilizing collective responses to refugees, there is an opportunity to reinvigorate the spirit of collective action and multilateralism that lies at the core of the refugee regime. The Together for Learning campaign is a moment to re-engage with the US administration, rekindle the enthusiasm seen during the , and mobilize all the tools at Canada’s disposal to not only improve refugee education, but the very functioning of the refugee regime itself.

Canada has the tools to seize this moment to revitalize the refugee regime. In his , for example, Bob Rae, Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Canada on Humanitarian and Refugee issues, called for a new approach to refugees that leverages all elements of Canada’s foreign policy to promote protection and find solutions for refugees. During the LERRN-IDRC webinar, “Mobilizing a Global Response”, speakers how Canadian leadership on refugee issues – including refugee resettlement, investments in education and the promotion of refugee participation – will have the greatest impact if they are approaches not as discreet contributions, but as part of a broader effort to demonstrate the benefits of collective action.

The webinar concluded with the view that Canada should be prepared to seize the opportunities of the current moment to contribute to positive change surrounding issues of displacement, not only now but for generations into the future.

Approached in this light, the Together for Learning initiative will have its greatest impact, not only for refugee education but for the entire refugee regime and its mandate of ensuring protection and solutions for refugees.

For more details on LERRN and its work, follow us on or visit our website.

To contact LERRN, write to: LERRN@carleton.ca

Event details and recordings available here.

The Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN) and the (IDRC) hosted their third joint webinar on 15 December 2020. Focused on refugee leadership, the webinar discussed the importance of refugee participation and refugee-led organizations as service-delivery providers in humanitarian settings during and beyond COVID-19. The webinar attracted over 104 participants from 14 countries, viewing from the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Europe, South and North America.

Anchored on an article recently published in Forced Migration Review, entitled “, the webinar drew on the perspectives of refugee leaders, Pascal Zigashane from Action pour le Progrès and Diala Ayman from the , and from and from with opening and closing comments from from the IDRC. The webinar was co-moderated by Mustafa Alio and James Milner.

The discussion highlighted the critical role refugee-led organizations play as first responders during emergencies like COVID-19. When international actors have faced mobility constraints due to the pandemic, Refugee-led Organizations (RLOs) have been on the frontlines serving their communities. These accomplishments are exemplified by Action pour le Progrès and the Molham Team. Action pour le Progrès provided food, face masks, and sanitizer to refugees in Kakuma Camp and facilitated capacity building training for community residents on healthcare and physiotherapy. Similarly, the Molham Team delivered food assistance to over 39,000 forcibly displaced persons during Ramadan and repairing the homes of 130 Syrian refugee families following the Beirut blast. In 2020, Diala Ayman said, “the Molham team managed to collect 9 million dollars,” providing “life-saving services to thousands of refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan.” Beyond these two examples, the seven RLO recipients of the also demonstrate the valuable contributions of RLOs.

Yet, despite the capacity and contributions that RLOs offer in protection and assistance before and during the pandemic, they face significant recognition and funding challenges. Access to funding remains a considerable challenge as RLOs, James Milner acknowledges, are caught in a “catch-22” where they need to demonstrate experience to qualify for funding, but they need funding to gain experience. Even when RLOs demonstrate significant capacity and expertise, Pascal Zigashane asserts, they remain excluded from many funding mechanisms and have limited access to decision-making processes. Notwithstanding the valuable work of Refugee-led Organizations, they are also not always recognized or known outside of their communities.

Panelists agreed that refugee participation and refugee-led organizations are essential and beneficial for refugee protection and assistance. Stella Ogunlade affirmed that UNHCR’s “work would improve with the active participation of RLOs.” Similarly, Kathryn Toure, acknowledging IDRC’s commitment to the LERRN partnership and recognizing the imbalance between the dominance of forced migration research in the Global North while “most of the world’s forcibly displaced populations, including refugees, are hosted in the countries of the Global South,” lamented that “local knowledge is often overlooked and underused.” She stressed that “international compacts and agreements on displaced populations need to reflect better the interests, priorities, concerns and perspectives of refugee communities and host countries in the global south.” Gillian Gillen also stressed the Government of Canada’s commitment to refugee participation through , integrating meaningful refugee participation in policy work. Canada also demonstrated its commitment by making in December 2019 as the first country with a refugee advocate and former refugee, Mustafa Alio, in its delegation to the UNHCR Global Refugee Forum.

The panelists also acknowledged that there is an opportunity to leverage and build on existing measures for greater refugee inclusion and support to RLOs. Stella Ogunlade highlighted UNHCR’s work with refugee organizations since 2015 and during COVID-19. One example is the that celebrates NGOs who developed innovative approaches to protect and deliver services to refugees and other persons of concern to UNHCR. Among the seven RLOs that won the award for 2020 was the , whose founder – Abdullahi Mire – was a speaker at the LERRN-IDRC webinar on refugee education in November 2020. Asserting that the UN agency has a long history of engaging with refugees through camp management committees, peaceful coexistence committees, tools for participatory assessment, and multi-stakeholder and community-based approaches, Ms. Ogunlade acknowledges that there is a need for strengthening systematic engagement with refugees and refugee-led organizations. Gillian Gillen said that the Government of Canada has increased funding to country-based pooled funds, which provide financing directly to NGOs. Other Canadian funding opportunities that may benefit RLOs include the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives for small-scale and high-impact projects, the Women’s Voice and Leadership Program for women’s rights organizations, and the Equality Fund.

Concluding that there is a need to shift the conversation from “if” refugee participation and leadership is crucial to “how” to make it happen, the speakers emphasized that institutionalizing refugee participation at all policymaking and practice levels has vast potential for transformative change. They proposed the following:

1. Strengthening creative solutions: RLOs have raised money independently through innovative solutions such as asking for refugee volunteers’ contributions, fundraising campaigns, and individual donations. These measures, integrated with capacity-building and flexible funding, can contribute towards equal partnerships. Supporting capacity-building can help these RLOs gain access to funding.
2. Capacity building: Panelists agreed that strengthening the capacity of RLOs is critical to meaningful participation. These could include supporting efforts such as the Kakuma Refugee Network that link up with educational institutions and others to build partnerships that inspire positive changes, and the Molham Team focused on building local refugee-led businesses’ as a key for better allocation of resources, efficient project implementation, and building partnerships with INGOs.
3. Flexible Funding: Access to funding remains a challenge for refugee-led organizations. Mustafa Alio pointed out that “In 2019, less than 1% funds to local and refugee-led organizations.” Addressing the gap between humanitarian needs and funding support during the global health crisis, Diala pointed out that “Refugees have been in an emergency mode for years and years facing many legal obstacles including anti-refugee rhetoric and economic problems.” Donors are also exploring new and existing mechanisms to fund RLOs. Stella Ogunlade mentioned that UNHCR is exploring Simplified Partnership Agreements for Refugee-led Organizations. The Innovation Awards are a promising example of a simplified process. Equal partnerships require refugees to have the ability to decide which projects to pursue and how to implement them, not just to be consulted within externally driven agendas.
4. Meaningful participation and partnership: Refugee-led organizations’ many benefits include the representation of refugee voices, awareness of community needs, improved responses, accountability to displaced populations, relationships of trust with the community, and the ability to mobilize local resources, knowledge, and connections. As Stella Ogunlade stated, meaningful refugee engagement needs to move beyond “tokenistic appearances” to engage with refugee-led organizations, including enhancing access to refugee communities, supporting empowerment initiatives for refugees, and assisting with localization. Similarly, Mustafa Alio suggested that Refugee-led Organizations can be important and meaningful partners in refugee responses, but issues of trust and power need to be addressed to create genuinely equal partnerships, crucial in providing services and program implementation.

With limited time to address questions from the audience and social media during the webinar, the panelists reacted to the following questions in a correspondence following the webinar.

What role can RLOs play in changing public narratives around refugees, both in host countries and elsewhere?

The inaccurate perception of refugees as passive recipients of humanitarian assistance remains a persistent narrative. Through their work, RLOs demonstrate refugee self-reliance as they actively contribute to their fellow refugee and host communities. In fact, RLOs that have proven their leadership and impact on the ground can play a huge role in changing the negative connotation that comes with the word ‘refugee’, from a passive recipient of assistance to an active provider of assistance to fellow refugees, and an equal partner to international aid providers.

What are examples of changes we have seen in mechanisms for funding to RLOs, such as the UNHCR Simplified Partnership Agreement or Canada’s Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI)? How can we build form these examples of progress?

The CFLI is designed to be a small-scale, flexible funding mechanism. This makes it highly accessible to local organizations who may not have previously received donor funding. Expanding the envelopes of funding available, as Canada is doing, and encouraging other donors to put in place similar funding mechanisms, are ways to increase available opportunities for RLOs. By program design, the CFLI is intended to respond to local needs and engage closely with recipients, many of whom are small organizations with modest resources. Regarding past changes to these funding mechanisms, in 2012, the CFLI transitioned into being a fully decentralised program managed by Canadian missions overseas. This decentralization allowed the program a greater degree of flexibility, and to build closer working relationships with implementing partners. A recent adaptation, for example, was through the CFLI program’s updated Terms and Conditions to allow more flexibility with the kinds of local organisations eligible for funding. This allows the CFLI to be able to partner with a wider range of stakeholders who often face restrictions.

What are some practical suggestions that can be shared in how RLOs can navigate the vetting process to receive external funding? / How can RLOs work to bridge the gap between the current capacity of RLOs and the necessary reporting and vetting requirements from donors?

As mentioned during the webinar, a frequently cited obstacle to funding is the lack of previous experience managing funds. Small, more manageable funding arrangements, such as those provided by the CFLI, can be valuable tools in this regard. Likewise, there have been examples of RLOs partnering with INGOs for both funding purposes, as well as other forms of capacity-building and training. Larger NGOs can also serve as “mentors” in this regard and provide advice on the development of the internal governance, policies and financial oversight required for many vetting processes.

Other forms of capacity-building can also be important resources to offer to RLOs to increase partnership opportunities over the long term. An example on how this may be pursued is Canada’s Women Voice and Leadership and Equality Fund, both of which are focused on providing support to local organizations, including women led and RLOs, and include a measure of capacity building for the implementing partner.

How can work on refugee-led organizations be mindful of the limits of the term “refugee”? How do we include those organizations not run by registered refugees, but by migrants or asylum seekers without status?

It is important to have flexibility in the use of the term ‘refugee’, since many people meet the UNHCR definition of a refugee but are not granted the formal status as refugees due to procedural complications and/or because they do not necessarily need the status in their host countries. For example, there are many Syrians who fled Syria due to the exact reasons that render a person a refugee per the legal definition, but they are not formally registered as refugees with the UNHCR because their host countries are not parties to the 1951 Convention. As such, not all organizations led by members of displaced communities are led by individuals who benefit from ‘refugee’ status.

This report was prepared by Sohaila Khaliqyar, LERRN Project Communications and Social Media Coordinator, Rachel McNally, LERRN Project Officer, and Nadeea Rahim, LERRN Program Officer.

The LERRN-IDRC Webinar Series on Forced Displacement is coordinated by Jennifer Kandjii, LERRN Research Officer. For further information or ideas please contact us here.

Event details and recordings available here.

On Thursday, 01 October, the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN) and the (IDRC) hosted a webinar discussing the recommendations brought forth by the Honourable Bob Rae’s on Canada’s role in mobilizing a global response to the enormous global challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the specific challenges faced by the international refugee system. The webinar attracted almost 200 participants, bringing together scholars and practitioners from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and North America. The distinguished panelists , Mustafa Alio, Dr. Maha Shuayb, Linda Oucho and affirmed the value of Canadian leadership in the refugee context, which can take many forms including: funding, greater leadership on issues of forced displacement including in Central America, resettlement, complementary pathways, multilateral engagement in peacebuilding, and the promotion of refugee participation.

Bob Rae emphasized, “We need to really begin to recognize that the world is changing, that refugee camps have become permanent settlements, that the voices of refugees need to be amplified and listened to.” Mustafa Alio urged other states to follow the lead of Canada in institutionalizing refugee participation in international delegations and called on actors to normalize refugee participation. Given the protracted nature of displacement, the inclusion of refugee voices is critical in the search for solutions, and there is a need for more opportunities for dialogue involving refugees, host governments, NGOs, international organizations and donors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, refugee-led organizations have demonstrated their value and capacity to respond to important needs in refugee and host communities. The panel affirmed recommendation #7 of Bob Rae’s report, which calls on Canada to financially support refugee-led organizations.

Although humanitarian efforts are valuable, Bob Rae stressed that they’re not enough. “We have to convince people that it’s actually in our interest to create a better refugee system.” Bob Rae identified the need to address the sources of conflict by engaging in conflict resolution, peacebuilding efforts and economic development. Solutions for displacement need to be contextualized for national and local contexts. Over the past 10 or 20 years, there has been a focus on containment and other restrictive policies. However, at some local levels like cities or regions, there is evidence of political will to welcome refugees.

Dr. Maha Shuayb cautioned that localization has recently become a buzzword in humanitarian practice and that it needs to be fully defined and understood to avoid unintended consequences, like reinforcing a Global North containment agenda or providing funding to weak national governments at the expense of local NGOs and refugees which has happened in Lebanon. It is important to establish accountability and examine existing approaches to working with host governments to ensure that localization truly benefits refugees. Furthermore, the panelists argued that we need to build a new political argument in support of refugees, not only using humanitarian and legal language, but also identifying areas where it is in the self-interest of states to work toward solutions for displacement. A political argument will be important for convincing people of the importance and the value of refugee protection.

As Linda Oucho noted, the COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity for reflection to identify what is working, where there are gaps and how to pursue change for the future. Gregory Maniatis suggested there’s a need to fundamentally rebuild the resettlement system by opening channels and complementary pathways such as labour mobility and family reunification. There are also important lessons that can be learned by looking at history, including successful examples of multilateral cooperation leading to solutions for large numbers of refugees. Bob Rae argued that Canada should be prepared to seize the opportunities of the current moment to contribute to positive change surrounding issues of displacement, not only now but for generations into the future.

LERRN is thrilled to continue the discussions on innovative solutions with and for refugees during the pandemic, and beyond. This webinar was the first in a series of webinars co-hosted by LERRN and IDRC. These monthly seminars will address several dimensions of forced displacement, with an emphasis on the perspectives of partners closest to the issues being discussed. Stay tuned through our website and as we announce details of the next webinar.

This report was prepared by Yasmine Ghania, LERRN Communications Officer.

The piece discusses the crucial role that refugee-led organisations are playing in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the need for meaningful and substantive refugee participation and leadership during and beyond the pandemic.

Read the full piece here.

This blog post was co-authored by refugee leaders from LERRN Mustafa Alio and Pascal Zigashane, along with LERRN Project Director James Milner and leaders from the Global Refugee-led Network Shaza Alrihawi, Anila Noor and Najeeba Wazefadost to discuss the importance of embracing and supporting refugee leadership and delivering on our promise of refugee participation. 

published on the Andrew and Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law website. 

Mustafa, a Syrian refugee, a co-founder of Jumpstart Refugee Talent and a member of the LERRN advisory committee shared his experiences at the GRF. He was joined by Muzna Duried who is also a Syrian refugee, a government liaison officer with the Syrian White Helmets and a member of the LERRN advisory committee. Muzna reflected on her experience as part of the Global Refugee-led Network Delegation November 2019.

The discussion proved to be very insightful, with questions of representation, accountability, and access steering the conversation. Both Muzna and Mustafa emphasized the need for multiple avenues of refugee participation in global decision making, and that participation must include a diversity of perspectives.

The key message was that refugees in both resettlement countries and in the Global South must have their voices heard. One such approach would follow the Canadian example and include refugee representatives on state delegations, and continue to ensure that refugee-led delegations have an equal seat in high level forums. However, scaling up this approach to a global level will continue to be challenging as refugees face considerable barriers to participation.

This dialogue is a reminder that while change may be slow, it is happening. LERRN will continue to facilitate these on going discussions, and identify avenues where we can support the participation of refugees in all stages of the research and policy process.

To view the full discussion

Event this Thursday

To further learn about next steps after the Forum, join our roundtable discussion on Thursday Jan 30. We will share insights from the Global Refugee Forum and ideas on how to support refugee participation in all aspects of refugee research, policy and practice.

Speakers will include Mustafa Alio, a refugee advisor, was included as a formal member of the Canadian delegation, as well as Muzna Dureid, Syrian Refugee and Founder of Women Refugees Not Captives.

The event is free; and check out more details in the poster below.