Assessing EU External Cooperation on Asylum in Light of the UN Global Compact on Refugees: Lessons Learned and Promising Practices

During the Global Refugee Forum on 12 December 2023, CEPS, in cooperation with the Danish Refugee Council and the Global Refugee-led Network hosted a public linked event, in a hybrid format, assessing the EU External Cooperation on Asylum in light of the UN Global Compact on Refugees.

The event kicked-off with the presentation of the results of the four-year EU-funded Horizon 2020 Project ASILE which has as one of its major objectives facilitating the implementation and workability of the UN GCR. See: https://www.asileproject.eu/asylum-for-containment/.

It aimed to unite academics, experts, policymakers, stakeholders, representatives from CSOs, International Organizations, and the vital voices of refugees. Speakers at the event featured Thomas Spijkerboer (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands); Gamze Ovacik (Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey); Meltem İneli Ciğer (Suleyman Demirel University); Syed Hasnain (UNIRE - Italian National Union of Refugees and Exiles and Member of the Network for Refugee Voices and the European Coalition of Migrants and Refugees); Daniela Reale (Save the Children International) Chloe Marshall-Denton (Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Belgium); Tineke Strik (Member of the European Parliament); Elise Currie-Roberts (UNHCR) Zakira Hekmat, (Afghan Refugees Solidarity Association & member of the GRN MENA chapter Steering Committee) and Cecilia Vejby Andersen (Danish Refugee Council, DRC).

Attendees were immersed in discussions that ranged from the challenges faced to the success stories achieved.

The workshop, hosted in the spirit of collaboration and cooperation, aimed to bridge the gap between theory and practice, fostering a shared understanding of the complexities surrounding asylum governance. It examined the scope and implementation of European Union’s cooperation instruments on asylum governance with selected third countries, and their compatibility with the UN Global Compact on Refugees (GCR).