ONE YEAR ON FROM THE 2023 GLOBAL REFUGEE FORUM
The groundbreaking Multistakeholder Pledge on Economic Inclusion and Social Protection (EISP) brought together a record number of commitments from 272 pledging partners, including 89 states and regional bodies, and $1 billion USD in immediately pledged investments. One year later, the RSRI reflects on the pledge’s progress and the future of economic inclusion and social protection for refugees.
RSRI Executive Director Kari Diener announces the launch of the Multistakeholder Pledge on Economic Inclusion and Social Protection (EISP) at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in Geneva.
In December 2023, the Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative (RSRI) spearheaded the launch of the Multistakeholder Pledge on Economic Inclusion and Social Protection (EISP) at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in Geneva, the world’s largest gathering in support of refugees and the countries that host them.
Led by the RSRI, UNHCR, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa, and the governments of Denmark, Germany, Mexico, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the United States of America, the EISP Pledge aims to galvanize concrete commitments from a wide range of stakeholders to advance the self-reliance of refugees, other forcibly displaced and stateless people, and host communities.
Technical co-conveners of this pledge include the International Labour Organization (ILO), Innovations for Poverty Action, the Poverty Alleviation Coalition, and the TENT Partnership for Refugees. Technical contributors include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank-UNHCR Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement, the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), UNICEF, ODI, and the European Union (EU).
A groundbreaking global collaboration, the EISP Pledge brought together a record number of commitments from 272 pledging partners, including 89 states and regional bodies, and $1 billion USD in immediately pledged investments.
One year later, the RSRI reflects on the pledge’s progress and the future of economic inclusion and social protection for refugees.
ABOUT THE EISP PLEDGE
The Multistakeholder Pledge on EISP may be one of the most ambitious pledges to implement with the greatest potential to improve the lives of refugees, other forcibly displaced and stateless people, and host communities.
The pledge advocates for inclusive law and policy to enhance economic inclusion, access to agricultural land, food security, local and remote employment and decent work, finance and financial services, entrepreneurship, training and lifelong learning, and inclusion into national social protection systems. It also serves as a platform to promote collaboration between pledging entities and other stakeholders to fulfill the implementation of commitments, share best practices, and aggregate resources related to the three primary thematic areas of economic inclusion and social protection: Legal & Policy, Data & Evidence, and Programmes.
The co-conveners of the Multistakeholder Pledge on Economic Inclusion and Social Protection (EISP) at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in Geneva.
While the EISP pledges vary across themes, as of September 2024, approximately 31% of the commitments relate to Employment & Job Creation, 28% to Employability & Training/Skills Development, 22% to Inclusion in National SP Systems/Registries, and 21% to Law/Policy Development. Examples of commitments include:
Providing income and employment opportunities to Syrian refugees and host communities in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Türkiye
Promoting the social, cultural, and economic integration of migrants and Afghan refugees in Brazil
Initiating a series of randomized evaluations focused on assessing the impact of social inclusion policies and programmes for refugees and asylum-seekers in Europe
Enhancing the inclusion of refugees in national systems via digital connectivity and access to national IDs in Ethiopia
This pledge recognizes the generous commitments made at the 2019 GRF by States and others and seeks to build upon implementation and progress made on these with renewed support. It also builds on the outcomes of the High Commissioner’s Dialogue Innovation Lab on self-reliance in November 2022 and commitments made in 2019.
ONE YEAR SINCE THE 2023 GRF
In the year since the launch of the EISP Pledge at the 2023 GRF, the RSRI and its network members have actively contributed towards advancing the economic inclusion and social protection of refugees, other forcibly displaced and stateless people, and host communities.
Approximately 41% of respondents to the RSRI’s 2024 Community of Practice Member Survey reported participating in stakeholder meetings and activities associated with the EISP Pledge this year. These activities included:
Quarterly meetings for the EISP Pledge organizing group
Young Refugees' Participation, Leadership & Self-Reliance: The Future We Cannot Afford to Ignore, a high-level dialogue & reception at the Summit of the Future, which was co-hosted by several EISP Pledge co-conveners
The Re:BUiLD Research & Policy Symposium on economic inclusion in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda, which was co-convened by the IRC, IKEA Foundation, and the World Bank and where the RSRI prepared a pledge briefing paper
Meeting of the Refugee Labour Mobility Network, where the RSRI highlighted the connections between the EISP Pledge and the Multistakeholder Pledge on Skills-Based Complementary Pathways as well as opportunities to link the two pledges together conceptually and practically
The RSRI continues to lead pledge group coordination, elevate best practices, highlight learning from the pledge initiative, and track the ongoing implementation and impact of host country policy and practice pledges and the financing of pledge-related initiatives.
Employment & Economic Inclusion Parallel High-Level event at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in Geneva.
DONOR WORKING GROUP ON SELF-RELIANCE
In addition to the activities listed above, the RSRI led the launch of a new donor working group on self-reliance to galvanize global support for self-reliance opportunities for refugees, other forcibly displaced and stateless people, and host communities.
Launched in October and co-chaired by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the US Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, the working group of 18 high-level governmental and foundation donors will build on efforts from the EISP Pledge, as well as the UNGA Transforming Humanitarian Response Ministerial Event co-hosted by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, along with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Ilan Goldfajn, and World Economic Forum (WEF) President Borge Brende.
Through their collective advocacy, diplomacy, and resources, these donors will contribute to policies and programs that create self-reliance and economic inclusion opportunities. They will share their experiences and learnings in promoting self-reliance programs with other governments, development actors (including development banks), private sector institutions, and foundations to influence the adoption of inclusive economic policies in host countries, elevate the visibility of these efforts, and prioritize areas for funding. The donor working group will also support the production of research that strengthens the evidence base on effective self-reliance programs, helping to identify scalable best practices and raise the profile of successful models/examples.
As the group's secretariat, the RSRI will continue to convene quarterly meetings and help ensure the collective advancement of the goals of the Multistakeholder Pledge on EISP.
2025 AND BEYOND
Thanks to the momentum of the 2023 GRF and the collective commitments of this global, multistakeholder initiative, the RSRI expects to see even more progress on refugee self-reliance in 2025 and beyond.
In the coming year, the RSRI and other pledge group members will continue to focus on the incremental steps, pragmatic engagement, and financial commitments needed to achieve our long-term vision for systemic change. One way the pledge group plans to expand its reach and strengthen its commitments to economic inclusion and social protection is by increasing the meaningful participation of refugees and refugee-led organizations (RLOs). RLOs play a vital role in the refugee response sector and, as such, are encouraged to channel their deep experience and expertise into a more significant role within the EISP Pledge.
Economic inclusion and social protection are critical components of self-reliance.
By advancing initiatives like the Multistakeholder Pledge on EISP, cultivating an enabling environment for refugees to have a say in decision-making opportunities that impact their lives, and convening best practices in programming and learning, the RSRI is helping refugees and other forcibly displaced people provide for themselves and their families, use their skills and expertise, and contribute to local economies. Jointly, we can transform the way the world responds to refugees and create a future where the journey from displacement to self-reliance is accelerated and marked by dignity, opportunity, and inclusion.
