A Restriction of Responsibility-Sharing: Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Compact on Refugees

The affirmation of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) in December 2018 demonstrated a powerful commitment by the international community to refugee protection and international cooperation in refugee responses. Although in many ways the GCR was created to address crises, few could have imagined the global upheaval the world would face just over a year after its affirmation and only months after the Global Refugee Forum (GRF), where 1,400 pledges were made to implement the GCR’s objectives.

The COVID-19 pandemic is not a refugee crisis per se but it has created multiple crises for refugees. Refugees are among the most likely populations to suffer both the direct and secondary impacts of the pandemic. In most countries in the world they face pre-existing barriers to protection and assistance, and now are often – though notably not always – excluded from host countries’ national COVID-19 responses and relief programs.

This report examines the current and potential use of the GCR to address COVID-19 and its impacts, as well as the impact of COVID-19 on the implementation of the GCR itself. It provides analysis of and reflections on the effects of the pandemic and concomitant challenges on different aspects of the GCR, ranging from shrinking asylum space and restricted responsibility-sharing to how the Compact features in public advocacy surrounding pandemic responses. Questions explored in the report include: How is the GCR used to address COVID-19 and its impacts? What is the impact of COVID-19 on the implementation of the GCR in terms of refugee protection? What might these impacts mean for the GCR’s shortand longer-term viability? It then offers key take-aways and recommendations aimed at a variety of actors