Partnerships, data and policies are needed to address forced displacement

Last week, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, there wasn’t a single person present who didn’t feel the weight of the challenge posed by forced displacement.  

More than one presenter referred to the record-breaking numbers of forcibly displaced people – refugees and those internally displaced. Data and evidence on internal displacement, in particular, has increased and as a demonstration of this, the conference featured six academic presentations out of 23 on this topic. At the same time, policy makers from host governments, multilateral banks and the UN, repeated the call for partnerships to address the issues faced by forcibly displaced people. 

A study of refugee policy led by Guy Grossman, Professor of Global Politics and International Relations, University of Pennsylvania, found that, over the past 20 years, while asylum policy is liberalizing in regions like Africa and Americas, it is not in Europe and Oceania. The findings were clear – poorer countries are catching up with wealthier countries, and contrary to popular perception, not all rich countries are adopting more restrictive policies.

For this reason, the World Bank collaborates with a wide range of stakeholders, including governments, international organizations, the private sector, and civil society to maximize development in fragile contexts; contexts where forced displacement is often present. Soukeyna Kane, Director of the Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV) Group at the World Bank, stressed that this requires robust and dynamic partnerships to ensure that interventions are well-coordinated, strategically aligned, and effective. Along with Abdouraouf Gnon-Konde, Director, West and Central Africa Regional Bureau, UNHCR, Leonard Wantchekon, Founder of the African School of Economics, and Riadh Ben Messaoud, Transition States Coordination Office Lead Coordinator, African Development Bank, she helped to set the scene on the first day of the conference. 

Complementing this, Olivier Guillaume E. Beer, the UNHCR Representative for Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia and Togo, offered the final word.  

“To achieve sustainable programming, not only is there a need for data, but there is also a need to strengthen solidarity with the displaced, generate political will to include them in enabling policy and regulatory frameworks, and advocate for ownership at the national level.” 

In other words, data alone won’t achieve a better world for forcibly displaced people; it must be used to be effective.

Aissatou Maisha Dicko

Head of the World Bank-UNHCR Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement