Updated October 2026: this post was first published in February 2018 to share a DRC report and the Geneva event that discussed it. We have expanded it with a summary drawn from the report.
On 4 December 2017, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and the Permanent Mission of Denmark to the UN hosted an event in Geneva to reflect on what the “system change” promised by the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) would mean in practice. It brought together 35 participants from NGOs, UNHCR, the ICRC and member state missions. DRC staff from East Africa, the Middle East and global programmes shared their experience on three questions for the Global Compact on Refugees and the continued roll-out of the CRRF: what it takes to create space for refugees and host communities in multi-stakeholder responses; whether such a response will dilute or reinforce accountability for refugee protection and solutions; and what role NGOs will play in a reformed response.
The discussion drew on a report DRC commissioned from HERE-Geneva, written by Marzia Montemurro and Karin Wendt and published in December 2017. It asks what opportunities and risks a whole-of-society approach creates for accountability, both for protection and solutions outcomes and for the participation and agency of refugees and host communities. It draws on semi-structured interviews with policy stakeholders and DRC country and regional directors, a document review, and lessons from past refugee responses and other multi-stakeholder initiatives.
Why accountability is at stake
The report sets the question against the scale of displacement: 65.6 million people were forcibly displaced at the end of 2016, including more than 20 million refugees, and two-thirds of refugees had been in exile for five years or more. The New York Declaration, adopted by 193 UN Member States, called for a response that brings in more actors. The report examines three changes that come with this: more actors, a whole-of-government approach, and a changing role for UNHCR.
More actors
Bringing in the World Bank, the private sector, and refugees and host communities can help close gaps in regulation, participation and implementation, provided roles are clear. The report is firm that no actor can replace the accountability of states to refugees. The World Bank’s value lies in longer-term, systemic responses, and its IDA refugee sub-window ties funding to a country’s refugee protection framework, with UNHCR involved in assessing it. Private sector involvement is uneven and depends on local business conditions, and the report warns that commercial interests could steer responses away from humanitarian needs. It also finds that the participation of refugees and host communities is often rhetorical.
A whole-of-government approach
The CRRF encourages several ministries to deliver services to refugees and hosts and to include refugees in national development plans. The report looks at experience in Turkey, Uganda, Costa Rica and Mexico. It finds that local authorities are central, that central coordination is still needed, and that corruption and weak checks and balances are real concerns.
The role of UNHCR
UNHCR has traditionally acted as coordinator, implementer and donor at once, with effectiveness that varies by context. The report sees the greatest opportunity in UNHCR taking on a leadership role free from operational pressures and drawing on other actors’ influence with host governments. It sees the greatest risk in host governments stepping back from their responsibilities to refugees as UNHCR’s operations shrink.
What the report recommends
The report argues that a whole-of-society approach should complement and strengthen the accountability that already exists, with states remaining answerable to refugees. It names the biggest risk as no change at all, which would leave state compliance weakly monitored, and expects change to be incremental, with the most opportunity at regional and country levels. It suggests clear accountability language in the Global Compact’s programme of action, backed by monitoring and scorecards; early discussion of accountability and ethical standards with private actors; a platform to frame responsibility sharing; country-based compacts with multi-stakeholder oversight and transparent monitoring of results; early engagement of local authorities, with adequate resources; and participation by refugees and host communities that shapes decisions.
Read the full report or find it in our e-library.
References
Montemurro, M. and Wendt, K. (2017). Whose responsibility? Accountability for refugee protection and solutions in a whole-of-society approach. HERE-Geneva for the Danish Refugee Council. December 2017. https://drc.ngo/media/2vcf1hgx/drc-here-accountability-for-refugee-protection-and-solutions-in-a-whole-of-society-approach-december-2017.pdf
