Local Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees - A Gateway to existing ideas, resources and capacities for cities across the world
In 2018, the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and the Global Compact for Refugees (GCR) were adopted by the vast majority of UN Member States.
During the preparatory processes for both Compacts, local authorities, among other stakeholders, were included and actively contributed to the global migration agenda. The Marrakech Mayoral Declaration (MMD, 2018) reaffirmed cities as key actors as they pledged to stand in solidarity, increase inter-city collaboration and play a critical role in shaping a more positive narrative on migration. Both Global Compacts acknowledged the importance of local authorities for shaping and implementation of these international commitments. However, while some local (city-level) authorities are successfully implementing innovative systems and approaches, others, who are also at the forefront of reception, basic service delivery, inclusion and rights protection of migrant populations, struggle and lack comprehensive guidance, resources, and capacity to move their work forward collectively.
The Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO), and the World Health Organization (WHO) therefore worked together with the Mayors Mechanism of the GMFD (UCLG, MMC and IOM) to support local authorities in advancing the implementation of the Global Compacts.
The contributing organizations developed this guidance document in an attempt to:
Provide cities with field-tested guidance to proactively shape their local inclusion measures;
Showcase the contribution cities across the world are providing to the implementation of the SDGs, the GCM and GCR;
Tap into cutting-edge existing support on the key dimensions contributing to local inclusion.
The report highlights the experience of land readjustment in the Republic of Korea dating back to 1930. Learning from practice, training, and experience offers vital support to local and national governments, urban practitioners, and policymakers. Through the country's experience, physical, social, economic, and cultural parameters of land readjustment in similar contexts can be better understood.
Housing, Land and Property Issues of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon from Homs City – November 2018
The “Housing, Land and Property Issues of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon from Homs City” project was launched in 2017 in partnership with UNHCR and with the support of the Ford Foundation. The aim of the study is to analyze the housing arrangements that refugees coming from Homs city have secured, seven years into the crisis, in addition to their living conditions, the implications of their legal status on their presence in Lebanon, and the role/influence of social networks - characteristic of this community coming from the city of Homs - on their access to shelter and trajectories. The project contributes to the knowledge about refugee trajectories in the context of a protracted refugee crisis particularly in relation to shelter acquisition. The results reported in this study can promote public awareness about the implications of the absence of affordable housing programs and the current restrictions that refugees in Lebanon face to access adequate shelter. They can further inform policymakers and other actors in the shelter sector about the current operations of the housing market.
Returning Home; Supporting Conflict Affected People through Housing
In May 2009, three decades of conflict came to end in Sri Lanka. While the entire country had suffered as a result, districts in the North and East were devastated. Families were displaced on multiple occasions, compelled to leave their homes for many years. When people eventually returned to their villages, most of their houses had been either badly damaged or completely destroyed. As the majority of people affected were relatively poor with marginal incomes and little or no savings, they were unable to sustain major financial shocks, especially the loss of livelihoods and housing.
Through a series of photographs taken by UN-Habitat and SDC staff members during the implementation of the project, this publication documents the stories of courage, resilience and recovery of a cross section of the homeowners who have successfully reconstructed their homes.
Ten principles can be followed to produce the sort of equal post-conflict settlement planning that can help to build communities that have a better basis of becoming peaceful and sustainable. These are:
Gender factors should be integrated in post-conflict settlement planning.
Post-conflict settlement planning should increase the safety and security of all groups.
Women grassroots organizations should be involved in post-conflict settlement planning.
A spatial framework should be used to facilitate the improvement of gender-sensitive coordination of post-crisis settlement planning.
The planning process should be people-centred and include both women and men.
Planning should be about building back better and increasing crisis resilience, peace and the inclusiveness of all groups.
Spatial planning should frame interventions as first steps towards socially, politically and economically equal neighborhoods and cities.
Planning should be integrated, linking infrastructure, services and livelihoods in a way that recognizes both women and men needs.
Planning should generate economic recovery and growth if addressed equally.
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