On the occasion of the first Global Refugee Forum (GRF), FAO has renewed its commitment to the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) with nine pledges to help address the challenges faced by refugees and other persons of concerns to UNHCR

FAO’s engagement on refugees and host populations is very concrete, impacting on the ground 900 000 refugees and host in over 20 displacement crises in the world. As a co-sponsor of two thematic sub-groups in the GRF, FAO, in partnership with several Member States, UN Agencies, NGO partners and private enterprises, has made a total of nine pledges on the occasion of the GRF.

Under the theme of burden and responsibility sharing, FAO, WFP and our partners have invited UNHCR to join the Food Security Information Network and are committed to include refugee and host communities-relevant data and analyses in the annual Global Report on Food Crises, to inform better targeted prevention of and response to food crises.

Under the theme of Jobs and livelihoods, FAO and UNHCR is  forming a Joint Unit in Nairobi to develop and support agricultural livelihood opportunities for refugees and host communities. In Eastern Africa, FAO has also partnered with local private sector actors to create job opportunities and strengthen agricultural livelihoods through the inclusion of refugee populations in two agriculture value chains.

Under the theme of Energy and infrastructure, FAO is committed with UNHCR, WFP and both hosting and donor Member State partners, to develop and make available renewable energy solutions for food production and cooking to refugee and host populations.

FAO and UNHCR have signed, last month, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with specific focus on inclusive economic development, safe access to fuel and energy and sustainable natural resource management for refugees and their host communities.

FAO pledges and good practices can be consulted on the GRF digital platform. FAO and partners are in the process of finalizing several more pledges, and we will continue to propose new engagements on behalf of refugees as we intensify our partnership with UNHCR.