Event

The Future of Refugee Resettlement and Complementary Pathways: Strengthening Sustainable and Strategic Humanitarian Solutions for Refugees

Host Organization: Migration Policy Institute

About

Speakers:

Andre Baas, Head of the Resettlement Sector, European Asylum Support Office

Katherine Rehberg, Deputy Vice President, Immigration and Refugee Program, Church World Service

Susan Fratzke, Senior Policy Analyst, International Program, Migration Policy Institute

Moderator:

Erol Kekic, Senior Vice President, Immigration and Refugee Program, Church World Service

As one of three durable solutions traditionally available for refugees, third-country resettlement is an important part of the international commitment to refugee protection and support. Yet the vast majority of refugees in need of resettlement as a durable solution in 2021 are unlikely to be resettled. In 2020, amid a global pandemic, resettlement numbers reached a record low: only 22,770 (1.6 percent) of the 1.4 million refugees in need of resettlement were resettled. In a recent paper, The Future of Refugee Resettlement & Complementary Pathways: Strengthening sustainable and strategic humanitarian solutions for refugees, Church World Service (CWS) argues that resettlement can and should be a humanitarian program to find protection for individuals and strategically contribute to the resolution of situations of forced displacement. However, achieving these goals will require political, structural, and operational changes. In particular, CWS makes the case that complementary pathways represent untapped opportunities for refugees to improve their lives through migration and proposes several key recommendations to advance complementary pathways and resettlement in the future.

This joint event organized by MPI and CWS, one of nine U.S. refugee resettlement agencies, will bring together experts in the field to discuss the paper. As its primary author, Katherine Rehberg, Deputy Vice President of the Immigration and Refugee Program at CWS, will present the key findings and recommendations. The discussion will then turn to the European Asylum Support Office’s work to foster closer international cooperation on resettlement submissions and processing, as well as what those experiences hold for wider cooperation between countries on resettlement processing, particularly outside the European Union. In addition, the conversation will focus on what is required to implement complementary pathways at an international level.

Register
When
Monday, February 22 10:00 AM ET
Where
Online Only
Fee
Free
Event Type
Webinar
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