EU member states need to step up to their commitments but also exceed their pledges on refugee resettlement, as only 7,821 had been resettled across the bloc by the end of August, out of a promised 20,000 this year.
Through the Global Pact on Refugees, with support from the UNHCR, a group of EU countries pledged to resettle 50,000 people between 2020 and 2022, yet they are falling significantly short across the board. And even if states were to meet their own targets, they would account for just 1 per cent of the global need.
“This year, they have committed to resettle over 20,000 refugees, and we want to see that because that is the commitment they have made. It is very difficult for everyone involved if those commitments are not reliable,” Olivia Sundberg, policy and advocacy adviser for refugee resettlement at the International Rescue Committee, told EURACTIV in an interview.
With EU states set to make new refugee resettlement pledges for 2023 on Friday (7 October), humanitarian organisations are pleading for them not just to meet their previous targets but to aim higher.
‘Step one is to uphold the commitments you’ve made to resettlement, but looking forward, we want to see far more ambition and far greater investment into refugee resettlement so the EU plays a role that is more commensurate with what it can do with its capacity,” Sundberg added.
One of a few safe pathways
Resettlement is a process whereby refugees are transferred from the country they sought asylum in to another country which has agreed to home them and ultimately grants them permanent residence.
The resettlement process is one of the few safe pathways for vulnerable people to reach the EU, and it also relieves significant pressure on countries that host refugees, including Libya, Lebanon and Uganda.
But the tiny number of resettlement cases trickling through the EU’s borders has a considerable impact not just on asylum states but on the refugees themselves.
“Whenever resettlement commitments are not upheld, we see what happens for people that put their lives on hold, who sometimes wait seven or eight years to be resettled. They are in limbo. For the countries that are hosting them, resettlement is supposed to be a solidarity tool, but when commitments don’t materialise, it’s an increased burden,” Sundberg explains.
“It is a humanitarian consequence whenever resettlement does not materialise,” she adds.
Time to future-proof resettlement
But what is driving the dismal numbers and the failure to step up to already made commitments? Sundberg says that the COVID-19 pandemic, the change of regime in Afghanistan, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and now the global economic and energy crisis all have a part to play. But she is adamant that this should not be an excuse.
“There is always going to be some sort of emergency, and resettlement keeps getting de-prioritised. Funding gets reallocated, and accommodation spaces get reallocated, but this is very much a lack of preparedness. States are not investing into reception capacity or planning ahead so resettlement can be more flexible and future-proof.”
As for the energy and inflation crisis, Sundberg points out it is important to remember this issue stretches far beyond the EU’s borders to countries struggling to house refugees in need of resettlement.
“They have made commitments to global responsibility sharing with other countries struggling to provide adequate support for refugees and facing the same challenges. Also, the impacts of the conflict on Ukraine haven’t been confined to Europe; they are very much affecting those countries that have for a very long time hosted the vast majority of refugees,” she said.
Furthermore, she notes that there are NGOs, religious institutions and even educational facilities in every member state that are willing and able to help develop the right networks and infrastructure to scale up resettlement.
As for the European Commission, Sundberg explains various mechanisms and even tranches of financial support that can be utilised by member states, including €10,000 per resettled refugee and more funds for integration.
“Member states should make full use of these tools,” Sundberg insists, adding that Europe has a tremendous capacity to welcome refugees when you consider all the various initiatives.
But EU member states are still not pulling their weight, and the number of people needing resettlement is set to increase by 36 per cent next year, bringing the total to more than two million worldwide.
Out of these, Sweden, France and Germany lead the way.
Until 31 August, Sweden resettled 2164 refugees, followed by France with 1778 and Germany with 1657. From Sweden and Germany, these numbers are a significant decline from 2021, during which both resettled more than 5000 people.
The worst performers are Portugal and Lithuania, who have not resettled a single person in 2022, while in 2021, they resettled 301 and 15, respectively.
“Resettlement has extremely high public support and traditionally very strong bipartisan support because they recognise the economic benefit resettlement has, the humanitarian leadership. It is just about having the political courage to make a case for it,” she concluded.
