Strengthening the Links between Humanitarian Assistance and National Social Protection Systems1 for Effective Responses to Forced Displacement – SPIAC-B Joint Statement, August 2022 – Global

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A record 100 million2 have been forcibly displaced3 around the world, and nearly half of them are children. Forced to flee their homes, forcibly displaced children and families are exposed to specific aggravating vulnerabilities, including loss of income and livelihoods, limited access to labor markets and (social) services, in a context economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, the global food crisis, high inflation and extreme weather events intensified by climate change. These vulnerabilities are further exacerbated for specific groups such as women and girls, the elderly, people with chronic illnesses and disabilities, and ethnic minorities. Forced displacement4 is increasingly protracted and requires linking humanitarian responses to longer-term development and systemic action. At the same time, while de jure coverage may exist in some contexts, de facto access to social protection systems remains very low for forcibly displaced populations, for example where practical barriers such as discrimination, literacy, documentation requirements. It is inevitable that future conflicts, environmental and economic crises will trigger additional forced displacement that will affect not only the people on the move, but also the countries and communities to which they move. It is estimated that two-thirds of the world’s extremely poor people will live in fragile, conflict-ridden and violent environments by 2030, affecting not only people forced to flee, but also people in neighboring communities and entire regions.
Social protection is a universal human right and a key enabler for achieving several Sustainable Development Goals. This right applies to everyone – including those who have been forced to flee their homes and those who may one day return as stipulated in international protection commitments5 . As we know from past crises, and as the current displacement crisis in Ukraine reminds us, social protection systems, in coordination within Strengthening the Links between Humanitarian Assistance and National Social Protection Systems1 for responses effective against forced displacement.

SPIAC-B Joint Statement, August 2022 SPIAC-B Social Protection Interagency Cooperation Board SPIAC-B is made up of 25 intergovernmental agencies and 10 government agencies. 11 civil society organizations act as observers.

For more information, see: https://www.ilo.org/newyork/at-theun/social-protection-inter-agency-cooperation-board/lang–en/index.htm humanitarian assistance, can be effective in protecting and promoting the livelihoods of forcibly displaced people and their host communities. The triggering of the European Union (EU) Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) is an unprecedented act that enables the inclusion over time of millions of refugees in the European economy and society, tackling temporarily to legal and operational barriers to access to work, social insurance, social assistance and social services. It also comes with funding that incentivizes countries to provide social assistance6. This sets a precedent for future large-scale displacement crises as it has enabled several countries in Europe with mature and modern social protection systems to rapidly include refugees and host communities on a large scale. which eclipses traditional humanitarian efforts, while others have struggled with limited technical means. and financial, the overall adaptability of their social protection frameworks to this particular shock, or varying degrees of political will and public support.

In the wake of the fastest-moving displacement crisis ever, the response to Ukraine has mobilized an unprecedented and welcome level of assistance and attention. However, other forced displacement crises remain relentless and humanitarian conditions are deteriorating at a rapid pace considering the impact of the war in Ukraine on global food security and inflation in the context of climatic shocks. ongoing and global and regional tensions7 . The reality is that the bulk of displaced populations are hosted in countries that are already struggling to provide adequate social protection coverage to their own citizens while dealing with complex and overlapping crisis dimensions on top of displacement. strengths.
Moreover, in some specific contexts, aligning humanitarian and development programs around social protection is not easy or even crises become more and more protracted and sometimes last more than a decade.