Drawing on her humanitarian travels to Jordan, Niger, and South Sudan in the past year, Blanchett underscores the vital role of refugees in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the need to listen to their voices for effective solutions.
Cate Blanchett, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, calls for a focus on education for refugees, support for host countries, and hearing personal accounts during the second Global Refugee Forum.
Gathering of diplomats in Geneva
Politicians, diplomats, charities, businesses, and refugees convene in Geneva from Dec.13-15 for the world’s largest international gathering on refugees, organized by the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
Blanchett notes the significance of prioritizing education for refugees and supporting host communities at the second Global Refugee Forum in Geneva.
Drawing on her humanitarian travels to Jordan, Niger, and South Sudan in the past year, Blanchett underscores the vital role of refugees in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the need to listen to their voices for effective solutions.
114 million displaced due to conflict, poverty and climate change
Global conflicts, poverty, and the impacts of climate change have led to a historic displacement of 114 million people worldwide, according to the UNHCR’s report in October.
As Western governments face increasing domestic pressure to adopt stricter measures on asylum seekers, discussions include potential schemes for deportation.
“There are overlapping reasons why people move and so we need to … find places where we have sophisticated adult conversations that are compassionate and humane,” said Blanchett.
Complexity of refugee issues
Blanchett notes the complexity of refugee issues, stating that solutions cannot be reduced to soundbites. Criticizing the practice of pushing people to various locations like Albania, Rwanda, Manus, and Nauru, she notes that such actions only create additional challenges.
Blanchett, a two-time Oscar-winning actor, assumed the role of UNHCR goodwill ambassador in 2016, involving advocacy, fundraising, and direct engagement with refugees globally.
Blanchett revisited Jordan this year, hosting over 600,000 Syrian refugees, a country she had visited seven years earlier.
Her travels also took her to Niger and South Sudan, and she collaborated with UNHCR’s High Commissioner Filippo Grandi to engage with members of the U.S. Congress in Washington.
Addressing the EU Parliament in Brussels last month, Blanchett called on the European Union to enhance its support for refugees and host countries. She emphasized the importance of not only making investments in areas near conflict zones but also ensuring that these investments translate into meaningful outcomes. Blanchett stressed the need for sustained commitment and action to address the challenges faced by displaced populations.
“Works of art, films … provide a platform, an opportunity and a coming together to talk about things that are really difficult to talk about,” Blanchett said, she starred in and produced the 2020 drama “Stateless,” which explored themes of asylum and detention.
UN fund for refugees in Central Africa
In June, Education Cannot Wait, United Nations’ global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, announced a US$2 million First Emergency Response grant to address the growing crisis affecting both the host community and the refugee children in the Central African Republic. ECW-funded programs in the Central African Republic previously aided approximately 250,000 children, receiving total support of close to US$70 million.
Yasmine Sherif, the executive director of ECW, revealed the latest tranche of funds following a recent UN trip to the border regions with Sudan. The trip was carried out by ECW Deputy Director Graham Lang, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, local education authorities, and implementing partners.
As of posting, around 15,000 individuals, primarily refugees, have entered the Central African Republic from war-torn Sudan. ECW is supporting UNHCR-led initiatives in developing a multi-country, inclusive response to the regional refugee crisis. These initiatives involve the government, donors, UN agencies, civil society, and local communities.
Debt burden for host nations for refugee education
Fourteen nations, which collectively host over half of the world’s refugees, are spending as much on external debt interest payments as it would cost to educate millions of refugee children for nearly five years, according to a new report by Save the Children.
The study, titled “The Price of Hope,” revealed that these countries paid US$23 billion in interest on external debt in 2020, with four nations allocating more funds to debt servicing than education.
The report underscored that this debt burden jeopardizes these countries’ ability to adequately fund education for refugees, a situation that is expected to worsen as the number of forcibly displaced individuals reaches a new high of 108.4 million.
“Some of the poorest countries host the highest numbers of refugees – and their economic outlook is bleak. Often, their education systems are underfunded and failing to meet the needs of the most marginalized children,” said Hollie Warren, Head of Education at Save the Children.
“Debt relief could play a critical role in mobilizing the scale of funding required to ensure every refugee child has access to education. But the longer we wait, the worse the situation will get for these children,” he said.
The report underscored the insufficient funding allocated to education in humanitarian efforts. In 2021, education received a mere 3.1 percent of global humanitarian financing and appeals for education funding received only 22 percent of the required funds.
