Global Refugee Forum 2023: A Wish List for Refugee Labour Mobility
At Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB), our mission is to empower refugees and displaced individuals to rebuild their lives with dignity and purpose by using their skills and talents.
The adoption of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) by the UN General Assembly in late 2018 marked a significant step towards realizing this vision. It set forth objectives to expand access to third-country solutions, emphasizing the importance of "complementary pathways for admission to third countries," including "labour mobility opportunities for refugees." This commitment led to the establishment of the Global Task Force on Refugee Labour Mobility, with TBB as a founding member.
A landmark Global Refugee Forum (GRF) will be held for the second time in history on 13-15th December. States and the UN have agreed to hold the GRF every four years to serve as a crucial platform to assess progress toward the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees. Significant strides have been made since the inaugural GRF in 2019, where our work, focusing on refugee labour mobility and complementary pathways, did not feature prominently on the agenda. We have a major opportunity in December to change this and focus much-needed global attention and resources on scaling refugee labour mobility programs.
TBB has been at the forefront of creating pathways and programs in countries like Australia, Canada, the UK, Belgium, Ireland, and Portugal. Initiatives are currently underway to kickstart pathways in the United States and several European nations. Our advocacy, together with the steadfast support of governments, including Canada (as the Task Force chair) and Australia, international organizations like the EU, UNHCR and IOM, dedicated NGOs like Refuge Point and Jumpstart, and private sector partners Fragomen and the International Chamber of Commerce and International Organization of Employers, as well as the unwavering commitment of employers worldwide, has catapulted refugee labour mobility into a central position on the GRF agenda.
The upcoming GRF will feature a dedicated High-Level event on labour mobility, where a gathering of governments at the Ministerial level, senior officials, individuals with lived refugee experience, NGOs, employers and other stakeholders will follow the refugee labour mobility journey, reflecting on obstacles to overcome and highlighting work that still needs to be done—combined with an opportunity for stakeholders to announce new initiatives and pledge their support.
A separate offsite reception co-hosted by the government of Australia and Fragomen will bring together the Global Task Force and the World Economic Forum’s Refugee Employment Alliance to convene a large number of senior business leaders and other stakeholders to cast a bright spotlight on this win-win solution to displacement.
While we anticipate a lot of hard work leading up to the Forum and many meaningful discussions at the events, there is always a concern that good ideas and dialogue don’t always lead to action. So, here’s TBB’s wish list for the 2023 Global Refugee Forum
Wish #1 Excitement
The concept lures both the brain and the heart: as a global humanitarian community, we can devote billions of dollars and vast resources to helping refugees survive, half-housed, at-risk, hoping for some education, dreaming of a future–or we can also invest in turning their energies and talents into needed employees in our communities, contributing socially and economically to their safe new homes. At this Global Refugee Forum, the buzz of excitement about making this dream real to supplement needs-based resettlement becomes palpable, widespread and speeding toward take-off velocity across states, refugee-led organizations, employers, UN organizations and NGOs.
Wish #2 Refugee Voices: Amplified and Heard
At this Global Refugee Forum, the voices of those with lived experience of displacement and of refugee-led organizations are amplified and heard. Their perspectives and insights play a pivotal role in shaping advocacy and program design. And they inform the process of building effective, humane, employment-based pathways.
Wish #3 Re-skilling, Up-skilling, Training for Solutions
While many refugees possess the necessary skills to meet employer demands immediately, we recognize that talent extends beyond credentials. Learning itself is a talent, and we hope the Forum will encourage stakeholders to invest in re-skilling, up-skilling, and training programs. By equipping refugees with new skills and updating existing ones, we can empower them to find durable solutions locally and internationally through employment.
Wish #4 Hiring!
We hope that the many companies large and small, from all over the world, which will be attending the GRF and its linked events, will have their misconceptions around hiring refugees challenged, and be inspired to include displaced talent as part of their talent acquisition strategies.
Wish #5 Pilots to Mainstream
Pilot programs are essential for testing and refining initiatives, but they should always be designed with scalability in mind. We look forward to governments announcing plans to integrate refugee labour mobility into their economic and work permit frameworks, ensuring that this powerful tool benefits a growing number of displaced individuals, shows solidarity with countries of first asylum, and meets the needs of employers and their communities on a broader scale.
As we approach the 2023 Global Refugee Forum, we carry these wishes with us, hoping for a future where refugee labour mobility becomes an integral part of the global migration system and response to displacement. Let the Forum be a platform for action, collaboration, and transformation, where the world comes together to unlock the full potential of displaced individuals and provide them with the opportunity to rebuild their lives with dignity and purpose. Together, we can turn these wishes into reality.