International Solidarity and the Global Compact on Refugees: What Role for the African Union and the European Union?

Abstract

On the 70th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention, this article examines the concept of solidarity and explains its relevance today, through the lens of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR). While stressing the potential as well as the challenges for thorough implementation of the solidarity mechanisms established by the GCR, the article argues that regional organizations may contribute to meeting the GCR objectives. This is particularly urgent for regions that are most affected by migratory flows. In proposing new ways of approaching the concept of solidarity, the article suggests that the African Union strengthen mechanisms other than the physical sharing of refugees, including pooling resources to support states experiencing large influxes of refugees. In addition to a system of financial support for refugee protection, the article also recommends that the European Union ensures safe channels for arrivals and a more robust resettlement programme, to help realize the GCR objectives.

Cultural–legal brokering and gender: A study of refugee‐serving institutions upon resettlement

“…Meanwhile, other countries, such as the United Kingdom and Canada, supplement a public sponsorship approach with a "private sponsorship" or "community sponsorship" program whereby approved citizens and private institutions can sponsor refugees (Reynolds & Clark-Kazak, 2021). Countries in the African Union, on the other hand, apply a regional approach to refugee resettlement (Nicolosi & Momoh, 2022). The U.S. resettlement program has been celebrated as a welcoming humanitarian and generous program that sets the country as a world leader (Kerwin, 2018), but also critically analyzed and problematized for its deindividualized, market-oriented priorities (Gonzalez Benson, 2016), and assimilationist assumptions (Ong, 2003).…”