Statement at Pre-Global Refugee Forum Conference

Acknowledgements:

• The Right Honourable Prime Minister
• The Honourable Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees
• Honourable Ministers present
• Your Excellencies, the Ambassadors
• Development Partners
• UN Colleagues
• Ladies and Gentlemen

I stand here on behalf of the United Nations system in Uganda, to express our gratitude to the Government of Uganda for its open-door policy and our collaboration in support of over 1.5 million refugees. Uganda has been at the forefront of refugee response, hosting one of the largest populations of refugees on the continent, and our pledge here today underscores our unwavering commitment to this cause.

As a co-convener of the 2023 Global Refugee Forum (GRF) and through the five core pledges announced, the Government of Uganda has once again demonstrated its leadership in sharing international responsibility. Uganda’s generosity is commendable in not only accepting refugees, but also in advancing their inclusion in the national systems and services, which has gained significant momentum. I anticipate the Government of Uganda’s renewed commitments on five core pledges, which we stand in support, will accelerate this even further. Equally laudable are humanitarian and development partners who have consistently supported the Government of Uganda in this collective effort on inclusion.

The UN family will renew and strengthen its commitment globally, to promoting refugees’ inclusion in national plans, budgets, datasets, and service delivery systems, recognizing that inclusion of refugees will be key to ensure that no one is left behind as we accelerate efforts under the Sustainable Development Goals. Over 20 UN entities have come together to co-create the Common Pledge 2.0. In Uganda, we have 29 Resident and Non-Resident UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes and Offices implementing our single most important planning instrument – the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework – under the UN Development System Reforms.

Our common pledge, crafted with the dedication and collaboration of the Uganda UN Country Team, is built upon the foundation of support, integration, and advancement. Our commitment is to work alongside the Government of Uganda to strengthen dialogues on durable solutions, ensuring that every step we take is within the humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach. By enhancing national capacities and fostering cross-border cooperation, we are not just responding to refugee movements but actively contributing to the prevention and preparedness for future crises.

Now please allow me to share the Uganda UN Country Team’s commitments. The UN Country Team, together with the government and partners across the humanitarian-development spectrum, including across the border undertook a robust consultative process in March-May this year. The process amplified the need for investing more in climate actions, clarifying critical linkages between climate change and access to livelihoods or to decent work – for both refugee and host communities. It also underlined the importance of quality funding and applying humanitarian-development and peace nexus approach, including cross-border collaboration.

Our commitments are broadly articulated around four themes, which are aligned with the GoU’s five core pledges.

First, the UN Country Team will continue to support the Government of Uganda to advance dialogue on durable solutions for identification of solutions and pathways to achieve them. This includes strengthening national capacity for applying the humanitarian-development and peace-Nexus approach.

As the refugee situation in Uganda is protracted, providing durable solutions options to refugees is a high priority to the country. This is highlighted in the government pledge as well as the ‘Munyonyo Declaration on Durable Solutions for Refugees in the East and Horn of Africa’ that was signed on June 2023. The UN Country Team will support the Government of Uganda, ensuring technical and policy advisory assistance, to initiate a robust dialogue across humanitarian, development, and peace actors at national and regional level on exploring durable solutions. Furthermore, the HDP Nexus approach will be critical to enable Government of Uganda’s transition planning and management, which needs to happen in a phased manner, and on the condition of coordinated and integrated planning between humanitarian, development partners and the Government of Uganda.

Second, we pledge to work with development and social partners to further integrate climate change actions and sustainable practices into our development programs, directly addressing the urgent need for resilience in the face of environmental challenges.  By strengthening the systems that support refugees and host communities, we aim to build a future where self-reliance and economic inclusion are not just aspirations but realities.

The UN contributions under this commitment area are aimed at promoting food and nutrition security, supporting economic integration, and enhancing self-reliance and resilience of refugees and host community households amid significant reduction in food rations and the declining financial assistance towards humanitarian response. The UN Common Pledge consultation process demonstrated the need for investing on climate actions clarifying critical linkages between climate change and access to livelihoods or to decent work and living condition for both refugee and host communities, which aligns to the government pledge under the theme of resilience and self-reliance and climate action, energy and environment.

Third, our support will focus on advancing localization for enhanced data, evidence and analysis around refugee movements and intentions for developing credible solutions. 

Recognizing Uganda’s leadership and commitment to the inclusion of refugees, as articulated in the NDP III, periodic national development planning and in statistics, and scaling up current good practices will be a key area of the UN country level commitments in the Common Pledge 2.0. It is expected that such support will contribute to Uganda in gradually achieving the Grand Bargain commitments as mentioned in the government pledge.

Fourth, we will continue to promote a cross-border UN approach to better assess needs, and advocate for actions towards addressing drivers of displacement. This means strengthening the UN systemwide approach in the region.

Addressing root causes of displacement and managing refugee influx/crisis, which currently forms a part of national dialogue in Uganda, will require broader dialogue between appropriate actors, developing solutions that are transformational, that cuts across borders, improves linkages between humanitarian and development actions, making the response more effective, and promotes conditions for durable solutions. While a regional/cross-border approach adds complexity and comes with high-transactions costs, it can be more effective toward ensuring lasting solutions for refugees.

The expected impact of our commitment is multi-fold: a more robust government capacity for dialogue on solutions, a future where refugee and host community households are self-reliant and integrated, and an environment where climate-smart practices and disaster risk governance contribute to sustainability.

To achieve these ambitious goals, we are mobilizing a collective investment of $235.8 million over the next four years. This will support priority humanitarian and development activities, including policy support and strategic advice, all aimed at advancing the inclusion of refugees in Uganda. We will allocate our resources using development-lens to explore solutions expected to advance refugee integration and to begin tackling drivers of displacement. It is expected that such an approach will eventually, usher the departure from year-on-year humanitarian response to multi-year nexus programming.

The pledges and statements shared by all partners today demonstrates that the upcoming GRF is an opportunity for all of us, to enhance our collective understanding of the problem, both new and protracted refugee situations, and thereby co-design solutions or begin to address causes and drivers of the problem. The consultative approach, by fully utilizing different actors’ comparative advantages, is the key to unlocking the kind of solutions that we all are looking for.

As we pledge today, we are mindful of the magnitude of our commitment. Our success will be measured not just by the resilience we build in communities but by the standards of dignity, security, and opportunity that every refugee can claim as their right. Our work is cut out for us, but the path is clear. Together, we can realize a vision where displacement comes with hope, and a refugee status is not an end, but a beginning of a journey towards sustainable development and peace.

The UN remains determined to support the implementation of Uganda’s Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework’s (CRRF) vision of a coordinated, accountable, and sustainable refugee response for socio-economic transformation of refugees and host communities. It is my wish that Uganda’s example and leadership on refugees will be acknowledged by other countries as a modern day blueprint for refugees through the GRF in Geneva next month.

Thank you.