Announcement of voluntary contributions to the programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR Pledging Conference)

Palais des Nations, Geneva, 3 December 2024

Statement by the EU and its Member States

Madam/Mr Chair, High Commissioner,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

Thank you, High Commissioner, for your opening remarks. The EU and its Member States share your deep concern about the continuously rising number of forcibly displaced persons worldwide. This calls for implementing the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, addressing root causes and systemic changes to decrease aid dependency and foster resilience, with UNHCR maintaining its core humanitarian and protection mandate while mobilising development and peace actors.

For decades, the EU and its Member States have been a leading and reliable humanitarian, development and peace donor. Team Europe works to support a sustainable approach to humanitarian support, focusing on prevention, resilience-building and long-term solutions. In 2023, the EU and its Member States provided nearly one-third of all global humanitarian aid recorded by OCHA, amounting to about USD 11.5 billion.  According to the latest OECD-DAC figures, Team Europe contributed the largest share of global funding (42%) for refugee situations in low- and middle-income countries. So far in 2024, the EU and its Member States have contributed close to USD 1 billion to UNHCR’s budget. This has included significant contributions of flexible funding, including unearmarked or multi-year funding, by many of our Member States. It is a tangible example of EU solidarity. It is also a demonstration of Team Europe’s joint forces delivering impact, with burden and responsibility sharing at the core.

The EU and its Member States reiterate their full commitment to continue addressing forced displacement crises, including protracted situations. Over the next five years, the European Commission – which formally started its new mandate on 1 December – will work on an integrated approach to fragility and will boost efforts on humanitarian diplomacy to promote respect for International Humanitarian Law and humanitarian principles. It will also focus on finding durable solutions for forcibly displaced persons and ensuring access to human rights, notably for stateless persons. It will explore ways to bring about a more equitable division of responsibility among donors, which includes private sector’s engagement.

UNHCR and the global humanitarian system are facing significant funding shortfalls, leaving many people in need without adequate assistance, especially in protracted crises. The EU and its Member States reiterate their call for a strong collective effort to mobilise additional global funding for humanitarian, development and peace efforts, with traditional donors remaining engaged and new and emerging donors encouraged to contribute more forcefully to achieve a more balanced and sustainable funding structure. In parallel, we need to better operationalise linkages across humanitarian, development and peace instruments from the onset. In this regard, we welcome UNHCR’s focus on sustainable responses and look forward to see this transformed into new approaches on the ground.

Let me conclude by appreciating UNHCR’s interagency initiatives, notably with IOM, both on the route-based approach and on internal displacement. We expect the UN system to ensure a joined-up approach to internal displacement, with UNHCR, IOM, UNDP and UN Development Coordination Office joining forces in leading collective efforts of the whole humanitarian and development systems towards durable solutions to internal displacement beyond the end of the mandate of Special Advisor Robert Piper.

Thank you.