Global Refugee Forum 2023

As global displacement due to conflict and violence hit record highs of more than 114 million people, in December, Act for Peace was privileged to be part of the Global Refugee Forum, where they worked to promote refugee leadership, facilitated important discussions, and secured pledges, including significant pledges from global law firms to provide free legal aid for refugees. 

Addressing Global Displacement Together: Act for Peace at the Global Refugee Forum

In the face of global displacement challenges, collaboration is essential. No organisation can tackle this crisis alone. That’s why, last December, Act for Peace participated in the second Global Refugee Forum (GRF) held in Geneva, joining over 4,200 participants from 168 countries.

As champions for the meaningful participation and leadership of refugees and displaced people we are encouraged that among those attendees were more than 300 refugee delegates, more than 4 times the number present for the forum in 2019.

The GRF, a significant international gathering on refugee issues held every four years, provides a platform to share best practices, make commitments, and contribute to policy development. It sets the direction for global action on refugees and aligns with the Global Compact on Refugees, which aims to ease pressures on poor refugee-hosting countries, enhance refugee self-reliance, and improve conditions in countries of origin to enable refugees to return home.

Act for Peace is proud to champion meaningful participation and leadership, and our team actively contributed to discussions and facilitated panels on advancing refugee leadership and participation at the GRF.

Once again, Act for Peace staff were on hand to champion policy and progress that works towards sustainable solutions to the displacement crisis. Their team of three held more than eight speaking spots throughout the week, and facilitated conversations that were seen to shape the debate, including a panel entitled: Advancing Refugee Leadership and Participation, were we presented the findings of 4 countries studies demonstrating the contribution refugee-led organisations and refugee leaders make to their own protection; work that is often invisible and unrecognised, but deserves greater support. 

Australia played a significant role in this years GRF, making 23 pledges (up from three in 2019) and joining the two pledges that were mobilised by Act for Peace:

• The first of these is a Legal Pledge, which saw 116 new organisations (law firms, bar associations, legal aid organisation etc.) commit 265,000 pro bono hours for refugee legal aid (double the number of hours in the first GRF Legal Pledge in 2019, where 80 organisations pledged 125,000 pro bono hours each year for 4 years, which was surpassed every year).
• The second pledge was on meaningful participation and leadership, a pledge that Act for Peace helped initiate in the 2019 GRF, and a Pledge that the Australian and US governments have now joined, along with 5 other donor states.

Act for Peace’s role at the GRF reflects progress towards sustainable solutions for the global displacement crisis. We are so grateful for your support, which makes this important work possible. Together, we are creating a world where refugees and displaced people have a safe place to belong.

Thank you for being part of this journey.