Never Ending Humanitarian Crises – Solutions in Sight?

One year after the Global Compact on Refugees was affirmed by the UN General Assembly, the first Global Refugee Forum in December will be a critical opportunity to strengthen our collective response to refugee crises around the world. Welcome to an evening conversation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr Filippo Grandi and Swedish Secretary of State for International Development Cooperation, Mr Per Olsson Fridh. More than 80% of the world’s refugees are hosted by developing countries, many of which have been supporting refugees for many years despite scarce resources and limited capacity. How do we provide more robust support to the countries and communities which are welcoming refugees? How can we practically invest in bold, new and sustainable solutions that will support host countries and boost refugee self-reliance? How do we ensure that education and labour market inclusion for refugees become integral parts of the humanitarian response? And what role can Sweden play? Speaker As United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi heads the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) leading the international response to refugee crises around the world, working with governments to ensure that refugees have access to protection and support, and helping find solutions to displacement and statelessness. He has more than 30 years of experience from UN missions in complex situations. Commentator Per Olsson Fridh is the Secretary of State to the Minister for Development Cooperation. Previously, he was the Secretary of State to the Minister for Culture and Democracy, Member of Parliament and councillor in the Stockholm City Council for the Green Party. Sweden is currently the third biggest bilateral donor to UNHCR and has contributed with 957 MSEK in core support during 2019, in addition to 236 MSEK to specific crises around the world. Moderator Christer Ahlström, Director, the Swedish Institute of International Affairs Photo: UNHCR/Caroline Bach