Cities and Municipalities

As first responders to refugee situations
Naima Ismail, a refugee from Somalia and President of the Somali Women's Association in Malaysia stands in the middle of a street, facing the camera

Cities and Municipalities

As first responders to refugee situations

Worldwide, cities and towns continue to demonstrate solidarity towards their refugee, internally displaced, and stateless residents. They promote progressive policies around housing and employment, and work to create social cohesion so that all residents feel like they belong in their local communities and have access to shared services.

No urban setting is the same and how services are delivered differs across cities, depending on a range of factors such as decentralization, capacity, and local social-economic contexts. What they have in common is their need to adapt global and national legal protection frameworks to their very local contexts. In doing so, cities show pragmatism and innovation as they are confronted with the challenge of providing access to adequate housing in real time. They make sure their refugee residents have the documentation they need to access local services, often with stretched resources and capacity.

Cities are also banding together, joining networks to show each other support, sharing knowledge and sometimes resources, and learning from each other’s experiences to empower their refugee and internally displaced communities.

This page is a space dedicated to initiatives by cities and their networks worldwide to encourage other cities to join them in doing more, and hopefully drive financial and technical support for these crucial initiatives.

A Call to Local Action

A queue outside a phone repair shop in Brazzaville

A Call to Local Action

A Call to Local Action enables local authorities and regional governments to make commitments to implement the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migration, as well as providing them with opportunities to interact with States, civil society, and the private sector, and fostering peer-to-peer learning and exchange.

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The Global Cities Fund

Map showing where GCF has been implemented for pandemic response and inclusive climate action

The Global Cities Fund

The Mayors Migration Council's Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees responds to the unmet needs of cities as they support migrants and displaced people.

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Toolkit: Effective Inclusion of Refugees

Front cover of the toolkit on effective inclusion of refugees

Toolkit: Effective Inclusion of Refugees

Effective Inclusion of Refugees: participatory approaches for practitioners at the local level provides local authorities engaged in refugee inclusion and integration with step-by-step guidance, practical checklists, good practices, and a score card that can be used when designing, adapting, or evaluating initiatives to foster effective inclusion. It is already available in 14 languages.

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Cities #WithRefugees

Greek artist Sotiris Fokeas and the Collectif Mazi refugee art group paint a mural on the walls of the Theagenio Cancer Hospital in Thessaloniki.

Cities #WithRefugees

UNHCR’s #WithRefugees campaign invites cities and local authorities all over the world who are working to promote inclusion, support refugees and bring communities together to sign a statement of solidarity #WithRefugees.

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Articles on the work of cities & municipalities

Good practices from cities & municipalities

Reports and articles from our stakeholders on the work of cities & municipalities