These working papers share perspectives and recommendations of the Experts Group on the Global Compact of Refugees (CCRF), a joint initiative of the New School’s Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility and New York University’s Center on International Cooperation, convened with support from the Open Society Foundations. The group brings together experts on refugee law and policy from a range of non-governmental organizations and academic instituions. Building on an initial meeting in 2017 that produced a set of recommendations for the Global Compact on Refugees, members of the group met over the course of 2019 to deliberate on and make concrete recommendations for strengthening international refugee policy, including in relation to the Global Refugee Forum (GRF), the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework, and other mechanisms.

Balukhali refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh (UNPhoto/Allison Joyce).

A summary of the group's updated recommendations can be found here:

Recommendations of Members of the Experts Group on the Global Compact on Refugees

2019 Working Papers:

Accountability and the Global Refugee System
Fen Hampson and Andrew S. Thompson, World Refugee Council

Conflict, Disaster, and Regional Refugee Definitions
Sanjula Weerasinghe, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Sydney, and Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University

Easing Pressure on Host Countries and Advancing Refugee Self-Reliance: Model Pledges on Refugee Work Rights
Asylum Access

From Theory of Change to SMART Pledges: Lessons for Pledges at the Global Refugee Forum and Beyond
Amanda Klassen and James Milner, Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN), Carleton University

Promoting Meaningful Participation in the Global Refugee Forum
Mark Yarnell

Additional Resources:

A Trans-Border Manifesto: Five Pillars of Three-Year Change
Global Refugee-Led Network

The Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework: responsibility-sharing and self-reliance in East Africa
Overseas Development Institute

The Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework: progress in four East African countries
Overseas Development Institute