Changing the Narrative on Forced Displacement: Findings from the UK-UNHCR-World Bank Building the Evidence on Forced Displacement Research Program
Changing the Narrative on Forced Displacement: Findings from the UK-UNHCR-World Bank Building the Evidence on Forced Displacement Research Program
Forced displacement has become a phenomenon of tragic proportions. By the end of 2022, more than 108 million people were forcibly displaced, having escaped conflict, violence, or persecution. Low- and middle-income countries absorbed 76 percent of this displaced population, and often for a protracted period, as two-thirds of the total refugee population remain displaced for many consecutive years. A new policy resolve emerged at the height of the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015 and matured in 2019 with the ratification of the Global Compact on Refugees. Viewing forced displacement as a humanitarian and development challenge, the new approach recognized that cooperation and coordination must improve among governments and humanitarian as well as development actors in responding to forced displacement. Anchored on the principle of ‘responsibility sharing’, the Compact constituted the basis to guide this more effective response to forced displacement. But lack of data and evidence impeded the formulation of evidence-based policies and programs to address forced displacement. In 2015, reliable microdata on refugees was scarce and difficult to obtain. For internally displaced persons (IDPs), such data was nearly non-existent. These data gaps limited opportunities for rigorous research, which in turn constrained opportunities for evidence-based policymaking.