Events

CID Talk: Rachel O'Connor: What's next for NZ's refugee policy?

Posted on 24 July 2018

What difference will new Global Compacts make to refugees and migrants in a time where nationalism and isolationism are on the rise in Europe and the USA?

Rachel is the National Migration Manager for New Zealand Red Cross and has spent 11 years managing refugee resettlement both regionally and at the national level in New Zealand.  She is currently studying towards a Masters of Migration with a focus on labour market integration of former refugees.

Rachel recently returned from the Annual Tripartite Consultation on Resettlement in Geneva, a meeting between resettlement NGOs, UNHCR and States looking at the projected needs for refugee resettlement and sharing best practice for resettlement.  In this CID Talk, Rachel gave an overview of the new Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants, a Force migration Global update, and a New Zealand focused resettlement update.

In the past two years refugee resettlement numbers have dropped by 50% due to States implementing active deterrence practices at the same time that the need for resettlement places has doubled in only 6 years.  With forced migration at record high numbers the only glimmer of hope is the potential for greater responsibility sharing and global solidarity through the development of two new Global Compacts.

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New Zealand