First-Ever Global Refugee Forum Comes To Close

The first-ever Global Refugee Forum in Geneva ended Wednesday with the UN Refugee Agency saying that the initial indications shoed over $7.7 billion in funds were pledged in total to improve the lives of refugees.

"Public support for asylum has wavered in recent years, and in many cases communities that host refugees have felt overwhelmed or forgotten," said UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi at the end of the conference, co-chaired by Turkey.

"At this Forum, we have seen a decisive shift towards the longer-term view," Grandi added in a statement.

According to the UNHCR, over $4.7 billion was pledged by the World Bank Group through a dedicated funding window for refugees and host communities, as well as a separate funding window to boost the private sector and create jobs in refugees and host communities.

It added that a similar announcement for $1 billion had come from the Inter-American Development Bank.

Additionally, "a broad range of states" and other stakeholders pledged financial support for refugees and their host communities of over $2 billion.

"These aim at substantially strengthening support for inclusion and long-term development needs in host communities -- a recognition that for the majority of the 25.9 million refugees worldwide, exile lasts years or even decades," said the UNHCR.

The private sector made the broadest range of commitments for the forcibly displaced, it said, adding that providing employment opportunities for refugees had seen "strong support" that was "crucial for allowing refugees to regain dignity and give back to the communities they live in."

In addition to humanitarian and development pledges, more than $250 million was pledged by business groups.

At least 15,000 jobs will be available to refugees through these initiatives, as will some 125,000 hours per year of pro bono legal counseling.

Grandi added that the forum, with 3,000 registered participants, was the biggest event the UNHCR had managed in its history.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on day two of the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, had said: "Global forced displacement has been rising steadily in recent years." -