Multi-stakeholder Pledge: ReSolve - for Resilience and Solutions, a Pledge for the Afghanistan Situation
Multi-stakeholder Pledge: ReSolve - for Resilience and Solutions, a Pledge for the Afghanistan Situation
Key outcomes
Commitments which form part of this multi-stakeholder pledge will contribute towards achieving access to expand solutions and enhance the resilience of displaced Afghans in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, and the communities hosting them. Specifically, it will do so through new financial, technical and policy pledges to enhance access to education and skills development, livelihoods, economic inclusion, and health services, along with resettlement and complementary pathways.
Background
The Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR), adopted by Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and UNHCR and endorsed by the international community in 2012, guides the regional approach to enable sustainable solutions for displaced Afghans. Its three strategic priorities are voluntary return, sustainable reintegration, and support for host countries. In practice, investments under the SSAR today prioritize an HDP nexus approach toward:
The Secretariat of the SSAR Support Platform, which was launched by the High Commissioner and the Governments of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan at the first Global Refugee Forum in 2019, has developed the multi-stakeholder ‘ReSolve’ pledge with a menu of pledge options that stakeholders can tailor based on specific interests, capacities and expertise.
Pledge description
The ‘ReSolve’ pledge for the Afghanistan situation advances the Global Compact’s principle of burden and responsibility-sharing through country-specific pledges for Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. See the full pledge concept in the links below.
The proposed pledges for Afghanistan aim to gather direct support for the people of Afghanistan, focusing on multisectoral, area-based interventions in education, health, community infrastructure, and livelihoods, with a special focus on women and girls. Pledge opportunities for Iran are aimed at supporting the country’s inclusive policies for refugees and asylum seekers in the areas of education and health; facilitating enhanced professional skills development; and enabling the departure of the most vulnerable refugees for third-country solutions. For Pakistan, potential pledges focus on support for education and skills development (particularly for women, girls and youth); access to quality healthcare under the national system; documentation, registration and disaggregated data; and clean energy.
The ‘ReSolve’ pledge specifically includes opportunities for stakeholders to support priorities or pledges identified by the Governments of Iran and Pakistan in order to facilitate Afghan refugees’ greater access to public services and protection, and to demonstrate solidarity with host communities. By matching the efforts of the Governments of Iran and Pakistan, the international community can translate the principle of responsibility sharing into action, providing a concrete and coordinated way for traditional and non-traditional partners to directly support the hospitality of these host countries.
- multisectoral, area-based interventions in education, health, community infrastructure, and livelihoods;
- supporting inclusive policies for refugees and asylum seekers in the areas of education and health;
- facilitating enhanced professional skills development; and enabling the departure of the most vulnerable refugees for third-country solutions;
- support for education and skills development (particularly for women, girls and youth);
- access to quality healthcare under the national system;
- documentation, registration and disaggregated data; and
- clean energy programmes.
- creating conditions conducive to voluntary return through community-based investments in areas of return;
- building refugee human capital through education and development of portable skills, linked to livelihood opportunities in Afghanistan; and
- preserving protection and asylum space through support for refugee-hosting communities and expanded opportunities for resettlement and complementary pathways in third countries.
Post GRF 2023 follow-up | January 2024
Summary
The Resolve – for Resilience and Solutions, a Pledge for the Afghanistan Situation Multi-Stakeholder Pledge (ReSolve MSP) was developed to advance the strategic objectives of the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR)1. Aiming to support displaced Afghans in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, the ReSolve MSP puts the concept of ‘responsibility sharing’ into action in support of Afghan refugees and host communities.
Fourteen pledges have been made towards the ReSolve MSP as of 23 January 2024 by 12 actors. They are: ANSS Foundation, Australia, Canada, Denmark, European Union, Japan, the Netherlands, Nexus 3.0, Skateistan, Switzerland, UNCT Afghanistan, and UNDP. Pledges supported all three target countries, with most of the commitments geared towards Afghanistan and Pakistan. While pledges were largely financial in nature, they also included commitments to provide technical support and third country solutions for Afghan refugees. Basic needs, self-reliance initiatives, and protection represent the most common thematic areas of pledges.
By 2027, through these pledges, the following outcomes are envisaged:
- Enhanced access to educational, health and other basic needs
- Increased number of Afghans resettled to third countries
- Increased self-reliance of displaced Afghans and host communities
- Enhanced access to protection services
Key statistics
- 14 pledges registered
- 12 submitting entities
- Pledges were made by: 6 Member States, 2 UN bodies, 3 non-governmental organizations and 1 non-governmental organization
- Over $485 million pledged2
- Displaced Afghans and host community members in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan supported
Sample of pledges
Most pledges fell within one of four thematic areas (basic needs, self-reliance, protection and third country solutions) and were of a financial or technical assistance nature.
The table provides a brief overview of the types of pledges made by thematic area and actors:
| Thematic area | Pledge makers | Types of pledges | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic needs (education, health, food security, etc.) | Australia, Canada, Denmark, European Union, Japan, Nexus 3.0, Switzerland, UNCT Afghanistan | Financial, technical | Access to basic needs improved for displaced Afghans and host communities |
| Self-reliance | Australia, Denmark, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, UNCT Afghanistan, UNDP | Financial, technical | Livelihoods opportunities increased for displaced Afghans and host communities |
| Protection | Australia, Canada, European Union, UNCT Afghanistan | Financial, technical | Improved access to protection services |
| Third country solutions | ANSS Foundation, Australia, European Union | Resettlement, technical | Increased resettlement of Afghan refugees |
Follow-up arrangements
Implementation and follow-up for the ReSolve MSP will be managed by the SSAR Secretariat within UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific. The pledge will be mainstreamed into the work of the SSAR Support Platform to ensure efficiencies and to avoid establishing parallel systems. While general oversight will be managed by the SSAR Secretariat, UNHCR operations in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan will coordinate the implementation of pledges in their respective countries via the SSAR Local Core Groups. In this respect, they will work with pledge-makers and host governments to develop implementation modalities and ensure they align to existing coordination and implementation structures.
Footnotes
- The objectives of the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) are: (1) Creating conditions conducive to voluntary repatriation through community-based investments in areas of high return (2) Building Afghan refugee capital based on livelihood opportunities in Afghanistan in order to facilitate sustainable return and reintegration, and (3) Enhanced support for refugee hosting communities, preserving protection space in host countries and third country solutions.
- Some pledges do not specify whether financial commitments are additional to contributions already made. In addition, some pledges reference financial support but do not provide a specific figure.
Leadership
- Members of the Core Group of the SSAR Support Platform
- Member States, other interested stakeholders and partners
Supported by UNHCR
Contact details
Jan de Bisschop, Policy Officer (SSAR Support Platform), [email protected]
Calendar
- 27 July: Introduction of the multi-stakeholder pledge for the Afghanistan situation to the Global Core Group of the SSAR Support Platform
- August – October: Discussions within local core groups and informal briefings as requested by any interested stakeholders
- 1 September: Presentation of the Resolve Pledge at the Third Formal Preparatory meeting of the GRF in Geneva
- 9-13 October: Convening with interested stakeholders during UNHCR’s ExCom to update on pledging process