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Why the gratitude for refugee-hosting countries?

As the number of refugees rises, the United Nations finds praise as much as aid helps more countries accept displaced people

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Reuters
An Afghan woman living in Pakistan sits with her baby while having her photo taken for an identity card that she can use for basic services.
  • By the Monitor's Editorial Board

Since August when the Taliban took power, Afghanistan’s economy has virtually collapsed under the group’s harsh rule. Now the country has become one of the world’s largest contributors to a rise in refugees – more than 84 million total. Yet as foreign relief agencies try to stem the exodus by providing aid directly to the Afghan people, the United Nations is offering an additional response. It is heaping praise on nearby countries welcoming the fleeing Afghans.

In December, Filippo Grandi, U.N. high commissioner for refugees, visited Iran and expressed gratitude for it being a generous host to Afghan refugees. In January, the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, commended Pakistan for its campaign to give identity cards to some 1.4 million Afghans in the country. The smart cards will enable them to better access services such as education and banking.

“It is important to keep a supportive eye on [Afghanistan’s] neighbors and step up support that is provided to them,” Mr. Grandi said last month. “They continue to host millions, and enhanced aid and resettlement places are in order at this difficult time.”

Worldwide, gratitude for host countries has become essential for refugee agencies. More conflicts are protracted and leave displaced people in limbo longer. Over the past three decades, the average period of forced displacement has increased threefold. From Uganda to Colombia, more countries – most of them low- or middle-income – have had to learn to live with refugees.

In January, UNHCR praised Jordan, which is home to more than a million refugees, for issuing a record 62,000 work permits last year to Syrians in the country. This progress, the agency noted, puts Jordan at the forefront of global efforts to give refugees access to decent work.

Since 2018, when the U.N. General Assembly approved the Global Compact on Refugees, many countries have tried to share the burden of hosting refugees and improve pathways for migration. Progress has been slow, which worries experts who predict a rapid rise in refugees caused by climate change in coming decades.

Last September, Mr. Grandi visited Turkey, home to more than 4 million refugees, and praised it for “offering important opportunities for them to achieve their potential.” Such visits are now more common. The gratitude serves as a moral counterpoint to the conflicts that drive people from their homes. It might also nudge more countries to adopt a similar welcoming spirit.

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