In 2022, the number of people forced to flee from their homes crossed 100 million. Protracted displacement is increasingly the norm. Today, the majority of those people displaced by conflict, violence or disasters remain within their own countries, often for years or decades. Tens of millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees are unable to benefit from lasting solutions to end their displacement and to rebuild their lives.
As underscored in both the Global Compact on Refugees (2018) and the UN Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement (2022), humanitarian assistance alone cannot bring about solutions for those forced to flee. Humanitarian action and funding must be complemented by development assistance and predictable financing, with a stronger emphasis on supporting nationally led action to foster peace
and stability Humanitarian and development action must be implemented in complementarity to break the cycle of forced displacement. Agenda 2030 recognized that forced displacement “threatens to reverse the development progress made in recent decades”. More joined-up action by the world’s leading humanitarian, development and peace actors is urgently needed.
UNDP and UNHCR are working side by side in forced displacement settings in over 40 countries through a combination of strategies and regional platforms such as the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework for the Americas (MIRPS), the IGAD Support Platform for Somali Refugees and Returnees, the Regional Refugee Response and Resilience Plan (3RP) for the Syria Crisis, and the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR).
The UNDP-UNHCR Global Collaboration Framework for Inclusion and Solutions 2023-2025 builds on this collaboration. It focuses on key areas where UNDP has a strong comparative advantage to bring development financing, technical assistance and advocacy to situations of forced displacement. It aligns the work of our respective agencies to deliver on the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, providing solutions for the displaced and stateless while supporting the communities and governments that generously host them. The Framework is fully aligned with UNDP Strategic Plan (2022-2025) and the recent UNDP Crisis Offer, as well as the UNHCR Strategic Directions (2022-2026).
Building on the learning from the UNDP-UNHCR Joint Action Plan (2017-2021), this Framework focuses on 7 areas for collaboration – livelihoods, SDG integration, rule of law/local governance, conflict prevention/ peacebuilding, climate change/environment, internal displacement, and statelessness.
Experience in the most fragile and conflict affected settings has demonstrated that combining our knowledge, funding, and technical capacity can lead to better lives for the people we serve. As we confront a new era of crisis management our hope is that this Framework provides more reliable pathways and enhanced results for displaced peoples and local communities alike.