The UN’s Global Compact on Refugees calls on states to consult with refugees regarding displacement

 
TLDR 
Despite increasing attention to refugee leadership, genuine participation in decision-making still needs to be improved. Many humanitarian organizations fail to empower refugees meaningfully, often perpetuating power imbalances. Real change requires shifting power to refugee-led groups, offering unrestricted funding, and dismantling exclusionary practices within established humanitarian systems.

In recent years, there has been growing support for the idea that refugees should have a meaningful voice in decisions impacting their lives, driven by a global movement advocating for refugee leadership. This idea is reflected in international agreements, such as the UN's Global Compact on Refugees, which calls for purposeful consultation with refugees in displacement crisis responses. However, despite these intentions, progress has been slow, and many organizations need more genuine inclusion.

Often, well-established humanitarian organizations build advisory bodies that appear to include refugee voices but need more real power. Refugee leaders are sometimes hired for one-off, high-profile roles without broader systemic inclusion efforts. Instead of building lasting partnerships with refugee-led organizations, many larger entities provide only small, project-based funding, which does little to empower long-term leadership.

This issue isn't only sometimes driven by opposition to refugee participation. Many humanitarian workers support these efforts but need more practical tools or institutional backing to implement them effectively. Meaningful refugee participation demands more than symbolic gestures; it requires a shift in the humanitarian system. This shift starts by questioning the colonial structures inherent in many aid organizations and redistributing power to refugee-led groups.

For genuine change, organizations must offer refugee-led groups unrestricted funding, remove unnecessary barriers like degree requirements for job postings, and center refugee voices in decision-making and resource allocation. This process challenges the power and control that large international organizations have traditionally held. Still, it's necessary to foster authentic refugee leadership and create more effective, community-led solutions to displacement. 
 
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