Call on EU to lead on resettlement

The Global Compact on Refugees identifies resettlement as a protection tool and a durable solution. Yet, in the current context of growing forced migration, the international community is not offering enough resettlement places.

The EU, which is one of the wealthiest regions and a major international humanitarian actor, covers only 1.6% of global resettlement needs.

While we do welcome the European Commission’s announcement on 30,000 new resettlement places, now is the time to move from words to action. The Global Refugee Forum of 17-18 December 2019 offers an opportunity to take stock of progress made on the Compact and to prove the EU is committed to implementing it. Hence, ahead of the Forum, Caritas Europa and 23 other civil society organisations are calling on the EU and its Member States to:

• make a collective pledge of at least 30,000 resettlement places for 2020;
• ensure this commitment is implemented within the calendar year;
• commit to a continuous, sustainable and significant increase in resettlement numbers;
• assert that resettlement is a durable, protection-centred tool that responds to global needs.