Multi-stakeholder pledges - Cross-cutting

Multistakeholder Pledge: Accelerate and Better Leverage Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus Approaches in Forced Displacement Settings

Key outcomes

Enhanced use of Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus approaches in forced displacement settings to maximize progress towards the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, while realizing human security for refugees and host communities.

Background

As global displacement hits unprecedented levels and the overwhelming majority of forcibly displaced are hosted in low and middle-income countries, there is need for more innovative approaches to ensure sustainable solutions for people forced to flee and prevent and mitigate the impact on host communities.

While it is essential to promptly provide humanitarian assistance, this must be coupled with scaled up mid- to long-term development investments in support of both community-driven and government-led initiatives and policies, at national and local levels, to ease pressure on host communities, enhance self-reliance and build resilience. It is equally critical to invest in peacebuilding efforts, which remain instrumental to tackle the root causes and to enable solutions to forced displacement. Complementary three-pronged Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) nexus approaches in cooperation with various partners are needed to:

Meet the immediate needs and protect the rights of displaced people through comprehensive humanitarian, early development, peace support and climate action.
Enhance self-reliance and build resilience of the forcibly displaced and wider displacement-affected communities through integrated development responses that ease pressure on host and return communities, in particular by including forcibly displaced persons in national and local development strategies and processes, as well as in climate planning, support national and local service delivery systems and capacities, and expand basic infrastructure and socio-economic opportunities for displaced people and host communities.
Promote social cohesion, address the recurring drivers of forced displacement by preventing further conflicts through complementary peace-related initiatives and support solutions to displacement crises.

Applying HDP nexus approaches is needed to support governments and ensure national ownership of displacement responses whilst also fostering complementarity of actions between all stakeholders – national and local governments, civil society, private sector, humanitarian and development partners – based on well-coordinated planning and implementation of HDP nexus approaches.

Cooperation on prevention through addressing the drivers and root causes of conflicts, violence and disasters that cause displacement (e.g., conflict prevention, disasters risk reduction, climate adaptation, early warning, economic development, good governance and rule of law) should also be encouraged as part of HDP nexus approaches.

More joined-up humanitarian, development and peace initiatives will realize human security for refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees and host communities, and ensure sustainability through responsibility-sharing around the globe.

The outcome document of the High-Level Officials Meeting in December 2021 called for “Mak[ing] better use of combined humanitarian, development, and peace capacities to achieve the GCR objectives”. With growing numbers of forcibly displaced worldwide, the second Global Refugee Forum (GRF) can be a milestone in the promotion of the HDP nexus for solutions to forced displacement, while addressing various needs of displaced and host communities in protracted situations. The approaches and the ambitions of this multi-stakeholder pledge are therefore to address barriers and accelerate and better leverage HDP nexus approaches in forced displacement settings over the next four years.

Pledge description

Global commitments:

Promote HDP nexus approaches to forced displacement to reduce burden on host/return countries, enhance self-reliance of refugees build resilience of hosting communities and create conducive environment for safe, dignified and voluntary return, address the root causes of forced displacement, and better leverage humanitarian, development and peace efforts with all stakeholders towards the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Highlight challenges of forced displacement and mainstream and leverage HDP nexus approaches in global development and peace-related fora, as well as policy dialogues in regional bodies, host and return countries.

Operational commitments at sectorial and country level:

Guidance/examples of possible commitments from members:

Introduction of new and acceleration of existing programming, coordination and financing initiatives to achieve an integrated response that maximizes complementarity and synergies between HDP actors, including through:
- Leading or funding research and data initiatives aimed at generating comparable socio-economic data on forcibly displaced and host populations, informing development and peace-building programming in host/return areas.
- Supporting countries of origin for creating conducive environment for safe, dignified and voluntary return through enhanced development and/or peace related interventions.
- Initiating or funding well-coordinated programmes at sub-regional, country and/or area-based level implemented in forced displacement settings including by supporting local actors and refugee-led organizations to actively participate in analysis, programming, coordination and the development of relevant policies and frameworks.
- Fostering government leadership in strategy development, coordination mechanisms and complementary programming at country and sub-national levels, foreseeing regular interactions between HDP actors in all response phases, including situation analysis, monitoring, and reporting.
- Promoting strong, measurable and scaled-up policy collaboration between humanitarian, development and peace actors, in line with the Common Position of DAC-INCAF Members supporting the Global Compact on Refugees on Addressing forced displacement with a comprehensive Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus approach.
Support host and return governments to better include forcibly displaced persons into their national and local development and sectoral plans aligned to SDGs, for instance by:
- Seconding technical expertise to governments in host/return countries in planning as well line ministries or government entities covering forced displacement responses to support development planning processes and strategies inclusive of forced displacement
- Allocating financial and technical assistance for the inclusion of refugees in national statistics.
- Providing financial contribution to infrastructural, capacity building and other components of national development and/or sectoral plans to be implemented in host and return areas.
Promote private sector development to expand economic opportunities in host and return areas, such as:
- Supporting government efforts to enhance enabling environments to allow refugees access to employment and/or start a business.
- Establishing targets for recruitment of refugee/IDP employees in private sector companies in forced displacement-affected areas.
- Enhancing the scale-up of refugee-owned enterprises.
Foster innovative approaches to increase resources to implement HDP nexus approaches in forced displacement settings, including through:
- Providing technical support to governments and partners through secondments and other capacity development resources.
- Increasing the relevant mechanisms and adaptable tools to catalyze and implement a HDP nexus approach.
- Conducting operational research, evaluations and policy dialogues that build the evidence/base for HDP approaches, key lessons learned and measure its impact.

Indicators to track progress and impact

Progress of this multistakeholder pledge would be monitored through several key indicators which are exemplified as follows:

Increase in the # of coordinated humanitarian, development and peace projects including forcibly displaced populations.
Increase in the # of government national and local development/sectoral plans financed and supported by development and peace actors that include forced displacement in terms of prevention, early response and solutions.
Increase in the # of global, regional and country-level fora focused on development and peace, referring to forced displacement.
Increase in the # of capacity development programmes by humanitarian, development and/or peace actors for host and return countries’ efforts to better support and find solutions to forced displacement.
Increase in the # of development and peace actors having dedicated strategies, financing or responsibility-sharing commitments to support countries and communities affected by forced displacement.
# of financing instruments available to promote HDP nexus approaches to forced displacement.
# of matching pledges between host/return and donor countries that adopt an HDP approach.
# of evaluations and research conducted that analyze the application of HDP nexus approaches, learning and recommendations shared.
Measurable decrease of the overall forcibly displaced/returnees/host communities requiring humanitarian assistance following integrated HDP approaches in target locations.

Pledge modality

In essence, this pledge serves as an umbrella under which all stakeholders, including governments, international organizations, civil society, refugee-led organizations, and the private sector, can bring together their strengths and put in place overarching political commitments and effective initiatives and mechanisms for burden and responsibility sharing to address displacement crises across the nexus.

All actors joining this multi-stakeholder pledge will take actions in areas in which they can best use their strengths. This could include but not exclusively, easing the pressure on host countries/communities, enhancing self-reliance, as well as creating a conducive environment for safe, dignified and voluntary return through complementary humanitarian, development and peace efforts. In this way, this pledge embodies the whole-of-society approach and services as platform where each actor can contribute its respective capabilities to support the achievement of the GCR towards the next GRF.

Commitments under this pledge can be through individual contributions in the spirit of HDP nexus approaches or in sectors that complement the existing GRF multi-stakeholder pledging architecture.

Pledges under this multi-stakeholder pledge may also have linkages to the enabling pledges on partnerships, protection, localization, or regional pledges.

Leadership

Japan
UNDP

Members

Government of Uganda
Government of Belgium
Government of Switzerland
International Labour Organisation (ILO)
OECD
UNDRR

Contact

Ishida Toshifumi, Head of Humanitarian Section, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Geneva - [email protected]; Catherine Osborn, Policy Adviser - Forced Displacement, UNDP - [email protected]

Calendar

10 September 2024 - Roundtable on Leveraging the HDP Nexus for Agriculture, Food Systems, and Food Security Solutions in Forced Displacement Situations. Read the concept note.