Giving Compass' Take:

• Funding for UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, is becoming more limited, and the organization needs to look for alternative support from countries in the EU.

• How will the UNHCR be able to address governments that have refugee problems, while simultaneously seeking funding sources?

•  Read the Giving Compass Refugee guide for donors. 

Over the past three years, the world has been confronted with a number of major new refugee emergencies – in Myanmar, Nigeria, South Sudan, Yemen and Venezuela, as well as the Central American region. In addition, existing crises in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Syria have gone unresolved, making it impossible for large exiled populations to return to their own country. As a result, the global refugee population has soared to more than 25 million, the highest figure ever recorded.

This means that the role of the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, which is supposed to protect and find solutions for this growing population, is more important than ever. But is it up to the task? The proliferating crises have stretched it to the limit.

Funding, most of which comes from a dozen key donor states, has not kept up with the rising numbers the agency is expected to support.  UNHCR is losing the support of the United States, traditionally the organization’s most important government partner, whether under Republican or Democrat administrations. Since Donald Trump’s election, the country has slashed the number of refugees it admits through its resettlement program.

Given that the U.S. currently contributes almost 40 percent of the UNHCR budget, even a modest reduction in its support will mean serious cuts in expenditure. The agency therefore has little choice but to look for alternative sources of funding and diplomatic support, especially from the European Union and its member states.

A final option available to UNHCR is to be more transparent about its limitations, to moderate the relentless self-promotion of its branding and marketing campaign and give greater recognition to the efforts that refugees are making to improve their own lives.

Read the full article about UNHCR by Jeff Crispe at News Deeply