Multi-stakeholder Pledge: 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol (Law and Policy Reform Initiative)

General observations

A total of 49 pledges originating from 41 entities have been recorded on asylum capacity.¹ 39 pledges are submitted by State entities and an additional 10 pledges by other stakeholders. Canada is the leading contributor, submitting a total of four asylum capacity pledges, followed by Paraguay, Panama, Mexico, Eswatini (with two pledges each). There were pre-matched commitments between France and Chad, Switzerland and Georgia as well as Canada and Mexico.

With regards to distribution of State pledges by region, the Americas/Caribbean region has the highest number of pledges (17), followed by Europe (five), West and Central Africa (five), Asia-Pacific (four), Southern Africa (four), and the East and Horn of & Great Lakes region (three) and one pledge from the MENA region.

The following provides a detailed breakdown of State pledges by region:

Regarding the 10 pledges made by other stakeholders, four are from civil society organizations, followed by two pledges each by International Organizations and Academics and Researchers. The European Union and East African Community equally made substantive asylum capacity pledges.

The following provides a breakdown of pledges made by other stakeholders:

Key highlights

Pledges received by States and other stakeholders can be broadly categorized into four types: (a) policy pledges reflecting State commitments to implement specific projects or activities in support of national asylum systems with a request for support, (b) policy pledges reflecting commitments to implement specific projects or activities in support of national asylum systems without a request for support, (c) support pledges offering technical, material, and/or financial support by States and other stakeholders for the improvement of national asylum systems, and (d) double pledges i.e. policy and support pledge. The following provides a breakdown of State pledges by category. The EAC and EU have been added considering its role as a regional player and support aimed at States.

As observed, three States, namely Chad, Georgia, Mexico have made pledges to implement specific projects or activities with a request for support. There’s matching potential for all three requesting States. Georgia and Switzerland have already made pre-matched pledge announcements. Notably, France is in discussions with Chad and plans to offer support based on the continuation of its 2019 pledge. Additionally, Canada has expressed its commitment to continuing support for Mexico. Similar to its 2019 pledge, Georgia stands out as the only State requesting support for its asylum system improvements while simultaneously pledging support and experience sharing with other States.

Seven States have extended offers of support, namely Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Georgia, Denmark, Switzerland and Canada. New Zealand and Australia indicated in their pledges that they would collaborate to enhance asylum capacity in small and emerging states in the Asia-Pacific region. Canada has committed to continue supporting asylum system strengthening projects in Mexico and expressed willingness to explore similar initiatives in Central America including through the MIRPS support platform. Denmark's commitment involves a financial contribution, while Switzerland, Georgia and Sweden are focused on providing technical support and expertise. These pledges require further clarification including the type of support (whether technical, material, and/or financial) as well as the intended recipients to facilitate matching. France and the Netherlands have stated that they will continue implementing the previous support pledges made.

A significant development for the GRF 2023 has been the efforts of some States to engage regional entities and platforms to encourage other States to make a joint pledge on asylum capacity development. Brazil (chair of the CONARE’s forum of MERCOSUL) and Mexico (chair of MIRPS) made such attempts which partially succeeded.

The pledges support the route-based approach to asylum to a limited extent. Denmark specified the link to the route-based approach in its pledge most specifically. Several other countries situated their support in the context of migration management. Some States on key migratory routes have made policy pledges, however this does not cover the entire chain of States on such routes.

Among support pledges by other stakeholders directed towards States, the European Union has made a pledge to a) support the efforts of Ukraine and Georgia to align their asylum and reception systems; b) provide a high-quality asylum space in the EU and c) continue to support the Regional Development and Protection Programme Phase VI to partner countries in North Africa and across the Atlantic. In addition, the East Africa Community announced a pledge to advance the adoption of the EAC Regional Refugee Management Policies in the Eastern Africa region and support their Member/Partner States in the development of laws, policies, and practices.

Regarding pledges by other stakeholders, they mainly relate to legal assistance (advice and representation), participation/inclusion, training and research, and asylum capacity development. As observed, some pledges are directed towards a particular region, some specifically aimed at States, while others are more global in nature. The Legal Community Pledge which is made by PILnet on behalf of its members includes a subsection on asylum capacity development. It is unclear how many NGO’s and private law-firms signed up for this component of the pledge. In addition, other pledges will also need to be further clarified in relation to the activity and scope. The United Nations Country Teams (Egypt) have tagged their advocacy focussed pledge to be relevant to the asylum capacity pledging area. As the pledge statement focuses on refugee inclusion, the contribution needs to be clarified.

Priority actions moving forward

Facilitate matching and other means of linking policy pledges with support offers prioritizing countries linked through the route-based approach. Implementation of this action requires a validation of the pledge database for the GRF 2023 combined with a review of the active GRF 2019 pledges. The ACSG Secretariat in coordination with RB’s/CO’s will pursue consultations with both requesting States and entities that have pledged assistance to get a breakdown of the support requests into concrete asks so that this information is available to entities offering support. Additionally, clarification will be sought regarding the type of support and the intended beneficiaries from offering States and on the scope and details of pledges made by other stakeholders.

Discuss key common topics and themes emerging from the pledges during technical events of the ACSG Dialogue Platform. UNHCR, as the ACSG secretariat, hosts technical meetings with the stakeholders engaged in the ACSG to discuss and work out solutions to common topics and themes identified within policy pledges.

Enhance engagement of a diversity stakeholders in the ACSG activities and workplan, including in particular forcibly displaced persons, building on consultations and dialogues conducted in the lead up to the GRF.

Leverage the ACSG to advocate for actions that advance the implementation of UNHCR’s strategy on asylum capacity development. The strategy on asylum capacity development is an important advocacy tool to engage a wide variety of stakeholders to provide a contribution to its vision and different elements of the theory of change. Contributions from stakeholders will be sought through the ACSG to finalize the development of the ACD strategy and to start its operationalization.

Reinforce the visibility of asylum strengthening action. UNHCR will expand the contributions on the ACSG Portal focusing on matches and enhanced exchange of knowledge and expertise. This will be achieved through encouraging good practice contributions as well as through exchange of experiences via the ACSG Dialogue Platform meeting with stakeholders. Synergies with regional developments such as pledge component of MIRPS on asylum system strengthening will further be reinforced. Further strategies to enhance the visibility of asylum capacity pledges and ACSG will be pursued including through engagement of UNCHR senior management and existing platforms of the GRF process and UNHCR calendar of events.

Further explore linkages between the ACSG and other multi-stakeholder pledges as well as key global and regional UNHCR priority initiatives (e.g. route-based approach, development engagement) in order to create synergies and maximize impact.

Regional overview

The following provides a further regional analysis on pledges by States and other stakeholders in asylum capacity.

The Americas

The region has a long tradition of intergovernmental cooperation and multi-stakeholder approaches in this area (MIRPS, Quito Process, RACBI, LA Declaration etc.).

A total of 17 pledges have been announced concerning asylum capacity. The key areas of focus in these pledges encompass legal reforms, decentralization, digitalization of registration systems, data validation exercises, backlog management, and capacity training. El Salvador, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Chile, Brazil, Belize, Honduras made commitments to enhance their respective asylum systems without specifying support needs. Mexico has expressed willingness to receive support and assistance from the members of the MIRPS Support Platform, UNHCR, OAS and other associations.

Expanding on its 2019 commitment and existing partnership with Mexico, Canada has pledged to continue asylum capacity development projects. This commitment is aimed at supporting Mexico through the Regional Asylum Capacity Building Initiative (RACBI). Moreover, Canada has expressed willingness to explore the development of similar initiatives, together with international partners to strengthen asylum systems in Central America. Notably, Canada has also taken on the leadership role in the "Investing in Asylum" Action Package under the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection as well as expressed its commitment to demonstrating leadership in the region by formally pledging asylum system strengthening projects in Central America and Mexico through its engagement with the MIRPS Support Platform.

With regards to pledges by other stakeholders, the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco has committed to support asylum seekers in the United States by offering education, training, and research assistance. This includes technical support and training for attorneys who represent asylum seekers, particularly those making claims related to the effects of climate change and disasters.

Asia-Pacific

In the Asia-Pacific region, four States have made commitments to enhancing asylum capacity. Two of these commitments involve providing support to others, while the other two focus on self-improvement and the establishment of robust systems. Australia and New Zealand have jointly pledged to assist States in the region to strengthen their asylum systems and protection capacities. Although the pledge description does not explicitly specify the recipients, there is an indication that the support is intended for smaller and emerging states. The pledge also does not specify whether the type of support offered will be technical, material, or financial.

Additionally, Kazakhstan and Thailand have made pledges related to the development and further strengthening of their respective systems, without any indication on support needs. For instance, Kazakhstan has committed to establishing border referral procedures, while Thailand, building on its 2019 commitment, aims to enhance its National Screening Mechanism (NSM) with a focus on improving data and interpretation systems, developing protection referral mechanisms, and fostering collaboration among key internal and external partners, including the Asylum Capacity Support Group.

Since the GRF 2019, the region has seen positive developments in terms of commitments, including contributions from new pledging entities like Australia and Kazakhstan. Although the Philippines and Republic of Korea haven't made new pledges, the match between New Zealand and the Philippines is currently in the implementation stage. This initiative is designed to strengthen the capacity for country of origin information in the Philippines.

With regards to pledges by other stakeholders, the Maqsut Narikbayev University in Kazakhstan has pledged to introduce a course on statelessness and refugees into its curriculum in 2024. Furthermore, the Justice Centre Hong Kong pledged to enhance fair, high-quality, and efficient asylum decision-making in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) through conducting research and providing expertise on legal matters related to first-instance non-refoulement decisions, and on legal considerations arising from common profiles of individuals seeking international protection.

Europe

In the Europe region, a total of five States made asylum capacity pledges. Among these, four States namely Denmark, Georgia, Sweden, Switzerland have expressed their willingness to support other States in improving their asylum systems. Denmark's commitment involves a financial contribution, while Georgia and Sweden are focused on providing technical support and expertise. Notably, Georgia has taken a dual approach, seeking support from Switzerland for its own asylum system improvements while also committing to support and share experience with other countries and institutions. Lithuania has pledged to make improvements in its asylum system without any indication of support needs.

With regards to regional/intergovernmental organizations, the European Union, in line with its new External Cooperation Strategy, has made a new ACSG pledge for the GRF 2023 which will focus on supporting candidate and potential candidate countries that have expressed interest in cooperation, pending agreement with the respective authorities. The implementation of the pledge is led by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) to support the national asylum authorities of Ukraine and Georgia to align their asylum and reception systems to the norms and standard of the Common European Asylum System. The pledge expressed the EU and EUAA’s commitment to work closely with UNHCR in the implementation of its pledge.

Africa (East and Horn & Great Lakes)

In the East and Horn & Great Lakes region of Africa, a total of three pledges have been announced. The State pledges mainly focus on the revision or otherwise strengthening of the national legal framework or asylum institutions.

In EHAGL region, pledges by Ethiopia, Uganda, South Sudan focus on strengthening the capacity of its National Asylum Processes, durable solutions, access to documentation and digital connectivity.

The East Africa Community (EAC) announced pledges which included the advancement of the adoption of EAC Regional Refugee Management Policies in the Eastern Africa region. The pledge indicated that this was a joint effort with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) which has however not submitted a similar pledge yet.

Africa (Southern)

In Southern Africa, a total of three pledges have been announced on asylum capacity. State pledges mainly focus on the revision or otherwise strengthening of the national legal framework or asylum institutions.

In Southern Africa, pledges by Eswatini and Botswana focus on operationalizing the Appeal process, implementing and review of existing legislations. There are some important active pledges from Southern African States which were made during the GRF 2019.

With regards to other stakeholders, International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges - Africa Chapter has pledged to provide capacity support to 2000 Judges, Magistrates, Government Officials and Legal Professionals as well as support States with RSD backlogs, development of regional asylum policies.

Africa (West and Central)

In West and Central Africa, a total of five pledges have been announced on asylum capacity. State pledges mainly focus on the revision or otherwise strengthening of the national legal framework or asylum institutions.

In West and Central Africa, pledges by Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Republic of Guinea focus on enhancing aspects of national asylum systems including through strengthening refugee status determination procedures including implementation of simplified procedures, adoption of revised legal frameworks, as well as review of Nationality and Citizenship provisions to facilitate Naturalization of Refugees. As noted, France is in discussions with Chad and plans to offer support based on the continuation of its 2019 pledge.

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

From MENA, there is one pledge on asylum capacity by Mauritania focusing on preparing a draft law on the right to asylum with a view to its adoption by 2024. There is also a pledge by the United Nations Country Team (Egypt) tagged as relevant to the asylum capacity pledging area.

ACSG Secretariat, January 2024

Footnotes

1. This document is prepared based on information gathered from the Pledges and Contributions Dashboard publicly available on the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) Digital Platform. The database is currently being cleaned and updated and accordingly information in this document might have to be updated. This document outlines pledges or commitments on the multi-stakeholder pledge on ‘Asylum Capacity – Asylum Capacity Support Group (ACSG)’ made by States and other stakeholders as part of the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) 2023. Pledges and contributions from 2019 are also currently being reviewed.