This is why states, NGOs and multilateral agencies came together in 2016 to ensure that the complementary implementation of best practices would no longer be left to chance but rather woven into the fabric of the global refugee system. At the end of the day, the global refugee challenge is entirely manageable.
Consider that refugees make up just 0.3% of the global population. The problem, as I think you've heard previously, is rather that 88% of the world's refugees are concentrated in a handful of front-line states. These are largely low- and middle-income countries already grappling with poverty, poor infrastructure, food insecurity and political instability. These are countries that have, to a great extent, been left to shoulder the responsibility of hosting refugees alone, oftentimes over decades.
That is why, in the New York declaration, world leaders expressed their determination to save lives, protect rights and share responsibility for the highest number of refugees since World War II. CARE was actively involved in the articulation of the New York declaration, and we have remained engaged through the two years of intensive consultations towards the strongest possible global compact on refugees. I am confident that this is what we have achieved.
By no means is the global compact on refugees perfect, but it is a document that recognizes that the global forced displacement challenge is inherently political, that countries of first asylum provide a vast public good, that women and girls experience particular gender-related barriers and bring unique capacities and contributions, that labour policies that support refugees' self-sufficiency help them become a net benefit to host communities, and that more must be done to tackle root causes such as conflict, abuse of human rights and international humanitarian law, exploitation, discrimination, and poverty.
I'm here to tell you today that CARE supports the global compact on refugees, which we believe can help bring about a more predictable, consistent, coherent and efficient international response to large flows of refugees.
What the global compact on refugees lacks is legal teeth or a clear way of holding states and other stakeholders accountable for its implementation. Paragraph 4 of the compact states that it will be “operationalized through voluntary contributions to achieve collective outcomes and progress towards its objectives”. This is where the world needs more Canada.
CARE recommends two key ways in which Canada can help the global compact for refugees set a new standard in the way the world responds to refugee crises.
First, Canada should offer to co-host the first global refugee forum. The global refugee forum, as established under the GCR, represents a critical opportunity to calibrate progress, share best practices and pledge contributions towards the objectives of the global compact on refugees. Canada is regarded as an honest broker and is uniquely positioned among countries to help co-host the first global refugee forum.
Second, Canada should support a comprehensive, gender-responsive response to a specific large-scale or protracted refugee situation. This would be done in partnership with a refugee-hosting country and in collaboration with UNHCR and local civil society organizations. It should involve the activation of the support platform conceived in the global compact for refugees, including efforts to galvanize political commitment; mobilize financial, material and technical assistance; facilitate coherence between humanitarian and development responses; and support policy initiatives that can help ease pressure on host countries, build resilience and self-reliance and find solutions.
The global compact on refugees offers a blueprint for a more consistent, predictable and efficient global refugee response system, a system capable of restoring trust and co-operation among countries. CARE firmly believes that the compact's operationalization and our ability as an international community to report on its progress in the coming years is a key migration opportunity for Canada in the 21st century.
With that, we look forward to your questions.