Increased solidarity, support for host nations and locally led solutions

Today, May 6, the Danish government hosts an international migration conference on “finding solutions to migration challenges.” The Danish Refugee Council welcomes the initiative and calls for focus on finding real including locally led solutions and ensuring sustainable development in the countries that host the most refugees.

It is important to maintain a long-term perspective and address the underlying and complex causes of displacement and irregular migration. Unfortunately, the Danish and other European governments often have a disproportionate focus on control and deterrence in relation to the persons moving towards Europe's borders.

It is crucial that better protection of refugees and migrants is the guiding principle for cooperation and partnerships. Efforts to address displacement and irregular migration must be measured by their ability to create positive change in terms of increased protection, access to rights and self-reliance, not by whether they contribute to restricting mobility.

There is also a need for an increased focus on supporting host and transit countries. The countries hosting the vast majority of the world's refugees need to be supported so that they can manage the pressure on their justice, education, health and asylum systems, local economies, and infrastructure to prevent further displacement and lasting impoverishment of both displaced people and their host communities.

Protracted displacement situations require concerted, integrated efforts that both address acute needs through humanitarian relief and support host states and local authorities to improve the chances of self-reliance. Low- and middle-income countries host more than 75% of the world's refugees and bear the brunt of the responsibility. 55% of the world's 35.8 million refugees, of which around two-thirds are in protracted displacement situations, live in just 10 countries. 

There is a need for more equitable responsibility sharing. It is crucial that international partnerships on refugee protection are based on - and build on - a recognition of the unequal responsibilities sharing, and that partnerships seek to mitigate the consequences for host states as well as refugee populations, while demonstrating solidarity through increased resettlement and respect for the right to seek asylum.