OVERVIEW I FOREWORD BY HIGH COMMISSIONER FILIPPO GRANDI life-saving needs. Flexible funding, given by some governments and many private sector donors, is the best way to support refugees in such situations. It gives UNHCR invaluable leeway in how and where to use the funds entrusted to it. Being displaced should not mean putting your life on hold, and we are increasingly emphasizing the need to focus on development and not merely aid. People must be able to continue with their education and to offer their skills to employers and, until they can return home with more experience and skills to rebuild their country, should have a chance to integrate into the local community or resettle in a place that has the capacity to host them. And solutions – even temporary – must also be sought, something UNHCR is prioritizing from the outset of any emergency. 2021 saw several historic milestones of solidarity, notably Colombia’s decision to offer Temporary Protection Status to 1.8 million Venezuelans and the strategic consensus in West Africa on a comprehensive solution for Ivorian refugees. Even during a second pandemic-affected year, many of the pledges made at the 2019 Global Refugee Forum moved forward, a positive sign from such a wide array of partners. However, third country solutions remained exceptionally rare. Resettlement numbers rose only modestly in 2021 and the progress on complementary pathways was slow. The world is failing to live up to the vision set out in 2019, for 3 million refugees to benefit from third country solutions by 2028. We know that there is far more capacity to offer resettlement, and public support for doing so – Ukraine’s crisis has demonstrated as much, and Afghanistan’s crisis in 2021 stirred support far beyond the neighbouring States. Third country solutions will not be the answer for most 6 UNHCR GLOBAL REPORT 2021 OVERVIEW I FOREWORD BY HIGH COMMISSIONER FILIPPO GRANDI forcibly displaced people. For them, the solution is not an “if” but a “when”. Specifically, when will the conflict end? In 2021, the calming of conflicts saw hundreds of thousands return in Burundi, Libya, Somalia and South Sudan. Even if the peace is less than perfect, stopping wars is the best antidote to displacement. Despite the heightened needs, some States engaged in refoulement and pushbacks on land and at sea, a cruel denial of humanity, and there was a worrying trend towards the externalization of international obligations, as if asylum can be traded for political gain. Many countries also gave into vaccine nationalism, hoarding COVID-19 vaccines in an own goal for global public health. However, I am heartened that most countries answered the call to include refugees in their national COVID-19 vaccination drives, and the doors that shut so abruptly at the start of the pandemic have mostly reopened, easing access to territory and asylum. Those that have not fully reopened paths to asylum must do so without delay. Whoever, wherever, whenever: everyone has the right to seek safety. Having adapted to cope with the pandemic in 2020, UNHCR continued to innovate in 2021, while also continuing to support national responses. Our strategy of prioritizing cash assistance, exploiting communications technology and working through communities proved invaluable, allowing support and information to flow more efficiently to the people who needed it. But the pandemic’s impact went far beyond the dangers of the virus itself. It deepened the relative disadvantage of forcibly displaced and stateless people, increasing poverty, setting back education and employment, and heightening risks for women and children in particular. To better meet the needs of forcibly displaced and stateless people, UNHCR enhanced its ability to gather and present evidence on their plight and the potential solutions. In 2021, our growing data capabilities included surveys and research conducted by the UNHCR-World Bank Joint Data Center, increasing use of participatory assessments and post-distribution monitoring of cash assistance, a proliferation of contacts and feedback via websites and social media, and a boost in the number of people registered in UNHCR’s PRIMES database. All this helps in protection, assistance, empowerment and eventual solutions. Forcibly displaced and stateless people are the strongest advocates for their own needs, but they often struggle to be heard. UNHCR is working with them to meet their needs, as well as keeping them informed about risks such as dangerous journeys and opportunities such as COVID-19 vaccinations. UNHCR’s work with communities has been significantly enhanced by embracing technology, with stronger communication and accountability thanks to digital inclusion, call centres, high frequency phone surveys and help websites. Technology is a powerful multiplier across UNHCR. It has enabled us to make a revolutionary switch to cash assistance and is now driving a scale-up of education via Instant Network Schools, and the replacement of diesel-powered water pumping with solarized boreholes via Project Flow. As well as upgrading our outward-facing capabilities, we have pressed ahead with fundamental internal changes that will make us more agile, efficient, inclusive and collaborative. After decentralizing UNHCR’s structure in 2020, our focus shifted to upgrading systems and simplifying processes through the Business Transformation Programme, taking advantage of cloud-based technology. Importantly, COMPASS – our new results-based management system – was rolled out. The system will allow us to improve multi-year planning and align our plans with development actors and international financial institutions. Knowing what we know about the needs of forcibly displaced and stateless people, and about the case for including them in development planning and seeking solutions to their plight, we cannot allow UNHCR’s work to continue to be routinely underfunded. We have broadened our funding base but we must do more to secure new sources of funding. In 2021, available funding covered only 56% of budgeted needs, down from 59% in 2020. Underfunding presents us with a cruel dilemma: it is inhumane not to fund nutrition, shelter, health and support for survivors of gender-based violence, but it is a false economy to fail to fund education, integration, repatriation and climate action. UNHCR is striving to mobilize more funds, especially flexible funding, to allow us to do more. We are seeking to broaden our donor base, with more development funding, more private sector funding, and innovative opportunities in Islamic financing. Our task is growing and becoming more complex. But we are determined to deliver, bolstered by a burgeoning global network of partners, and heartened by the great reserves of altruism, solidarity and generosity that persist in – and perhaps because of – our troubled world. – Filippo Grandi UNHCR High Commissioner UNHCR GLOBAL REPORT 2021 7