{"id":1136,"date":"2025-04-29T09:46:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T09:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1136"},"modified":"2025-10-18T10:13:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T10:13:31","slug":"from-border-control-to-belonging-how-refugees-can-strengthen-host-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1136","title":{"rendered":"From Border Control to Belonging: How Refugees Can Strengthen Host Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As humanitarian funding shrinks and global displacement continues to rise, the international community is being urged to rethink its response to refugee crises. Rather than focusing solely on border security and short-term aid, <strong>new strategies are highlighting the benefits of integrating refugees into host societies<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At a recent high-level meeting of the <strong>UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)<\/strong> in New York, global leaders, including refugee experts and country representatives, called for more <strong>inclusive, long-term policies<\/strong> that serve both refugees and the communities that receive them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A Crisis Growing in Complexity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2024, over <strong>122 million people<\/strong> were forcibly displaced by war, climate change, hunger, and poverty. Most of them\u2014<strong>around 70%<\/strong>\u2014now reside in <strong>low- and middle-income countries<\/strong>, according to ECOSOC President <strong>Bob Rae<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UN High Commissioner for Refugees <strong>Filippo Grandi<\/strong> emphasized that the current global focus on border control often comes <strong>at the expense of human rights<\/strong>, and urged for a shift in priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cInclusion means more than safety. It means access to healthcare, education, job opportunities, and documentation\u2014tools that allow refugees to rebuild their lives and contribute to their new communities,\u201d said Grandi.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Examples of Inclusive Refugee Policies<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Two countries\u2014<strong>Colombia<\/strong> and <strong>Mauritania<\/strong>\u2014shared real-world success stories on how <strong>empowering refugees<\/strong> has benefited their nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Colombia: Legal Protections and Integration for Venezuelans<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2021, Colombia introduced a <strong>Temporary Protection Status (TPS)<\/strong> program for Venezuelan refugees. This initiative gave <strong>2.5 million Venezuelans<\/strong> legal documentation, allowing access to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Public healthcare and education<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Legal employment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Social services<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only has TPS restored dignity and stability for refugees, but it has also helped Colombia <strong>better manage refugee flows<\/strong>, boosting both social integration and national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Mauritania: Embracing Refugees as Contributors<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>For more than a decade, <strong>Mauritania has welcomed refugees from Mali<\/strong>, upholding their rights to work, study, and access healthcare. The government treats refugees as <strong>equal partners<\/strong> in development, supporting both refugee and host communities through:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Investments in education and livelihoods<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhanced social cohesion efforts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Local development initiatives that benefit all<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A New Approach to Forced Displacement<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Speakers at the ECOSOC event stressed that <strong>refugee integration should be seen as an opportunity\u2014not a burden<\/strong>. While financial aid remains vital, the focus must now shift to <strong>building resilient communities<\/strong> that empower displaced people to contribute economically, socially, and culturally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cWe can no longer afford to separate refugee protection from development,\u201d said ECOSOC President Rae. \u201cBy investing in both, we build stronger, more inclusive societies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As humanitarian funding shrinks and global displacement continues to rise, the international community is being urged to rethink its response to refugee crises. Rather than focusing solely on border security and short-term aid, new strategies are highlighting the benefits of integrating refugees into host societies. At a recent high-level meeting of the UN Economic and [&hellip;]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-topics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>From Border Control to Belonging: How Refugees Can Strengthen Host Communities - Brussels for Human Rights and development<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1136\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Border Control to Belonging: How Refugees Can Strengthen Host Communities - Brussels for Human Rights and development\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As humanitarian funding shrinks and global displacement continues to rise, the international community is being urged to rethink its response to refugee crises. 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