United States Announces New Pledges at 2023 Global Refugee Forum
From December 13-15 at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF), the largest international gathering on refugees, the United States announced 26 unique commitments toward eight multi-stakeholder pledges demonstrating U.S. leadership in meeting the needs of refugees and host communities in this time of historic displacement. The United States is spearheading high-level action with diverse global partners, strengthening global refugee resettlement opportunities, and encouraging more comprehensive and innovative responses and solutions to refugee and host community needs.
When consultations toward the Global Compact on Refugees began in 2016, forcibly displaced people around the world numbered 65.6 million. Each year since then has set a successive record for the highest number of displaced persons ever recorded. Global forced displacement is increasing at unprecedented rates, with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimating as of December 2023 more than 130 million people are forcibly displaced or stateless worldwide. For the international community, the need to broaden the base of support for refugees worldwide has never been more urgent.
The United States reaffirms our commitment to the Global Compact on Refugees and underscores our dedication to championing refugee protection and solutions. New pledges from the United States announced at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum include:
Rohingya
- Increase Rohingya resettlement to the United States: The United States recognizes the Rohingya situation as a priority and pledges to continue to expand the number of Rohingya, including from Bangladesh, resettled through the USRAP in Fiscal Year 2024.
- Encourage third countries to expand Rohingya resettlement: The United States pledges to continue through calendar year 2024 to use its experience with resettling Rohingya refugees and its positions as chair of the Resettlement Diplomacy Network and a co-chair of the Priority Situations Core Group (PSCG) to encourage other countries to expand or create new third-country solutions for Rohingya refugees.
- Encourage Rohingya access to the U.S. Welcome Corps at Work labor mobility program for refugees: The United States pledges through its Welcome Corps at Work, the new labor mobility program for refugees within Welcome Corps, to focus on Rohingya refugees gaining access to employment in the United States.
- Expand skills of Rohingya refugees and host communities: The United States pledges to support efforts to expand programs that offer numeracy, literacy, and vocational training as well as formal skills certification to Rohingya refugees and host communities. This includes engaging with private sector actors who could contribute financial, in-kind, or technical support to these programs.
- Support international financial institutions’ engagement with Rohingya refugees and host communities: The United States will work with the donor community and host governments to support the efforts of international financial institutions to develop effective means of supporting Rohingya refugees and surrounding host communities.
- Strengthen humanitarian and development coherence in Rohingya refugee programs: The United States will strengthen the internal coherence of its humanitarian and development assistance for Rohingya refugees and hosting countries, including through the development of a program to build the capacity of partners to address the unique health and protection needs of Rohingya refugees.
