Financing Refugee Hosting Contexts: An analysis of the DAC’s contribution to burden- and responsibility-sharing in supporting refugees and their host communities

Protecting and supporting refugees is an important responsibility of the international community. The Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) was proposed in 2018 to establish a more predictable and equitable sharing of burdens and responsibilities among United Nations Member States when it comes to fulfilling these obligations. This working paper presents and analyses the findings of a survey circulated to members of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) between July and September 2018. The survey investigated trends in official development assistance (ODA) and plans for future funding to programmes and projects that support refugees and their host communities, as well as other, non-funding efforts and responses that DAC members are making in support of refugees. The findings of this paper will establish a baseline for monitoring progress toward “funding and effective and efficient use of resources” as one of the key tools for meeting the commitments of the GCR. The paper examines some of the strengths and challenges of current donor practices, and recommends a set of priorities to guide future donor support and engagement in order to promote good donorship and to support the international community in meeting the GCR’s objectives.