UPDATE - First-ever Global Refugee Forum comes to close

ADDS QUOTES FROM PRESS CONFERENCE

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - The first-ever Global Refugee Forum ended Wednesday in Geneva with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) saying initial indications showed over $7.7 billion in funds were pledged to improve the lives of refugees.

Speaking to journalists after the close of the forum, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi thanked Turkey as a co-convener.

“I want to praise Turkey. Turkey hosts more than 4 million refugees. It is not easy,” he said, adding that includes 3.6 million Syrian refugees.

“Yesterday, President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan illustrated the very important work that is done to include refugees in education, in public services and giving them access to employment.

"Public support for asylum has wavered in recent years, and in many cases, communities that host refugees have felt overwhelmed or forgotten," Grandi added.

"At this forum, we have seen a decisive shift towards the longer-term view," he said, noting the important role the private sector played.

According to the UNHCR, over $4.7 billion was pledged by the World Bank Group through a dedicated funding window for refugees and host communities, as well as a separate funding window to boost the private sector and create jobs in refugee and host communities.

It added that a similar announcement for $1 billion had come from the Inter-American Development Bank.

Additionally, "a broad range of states" and other stakeholders pledged financial support for refugees and their host communities of over $2 billion.

"Is this forum a success?” said Grandi. "This forum has the makings of success, the type of pledges made, the quality made. To make it a success is the responsibility of all us."

The pledges “aim at substantially strengthening support for inclusion and long-term development needs in host communities -- a recognition that for the majority of the 25.9 million refugees worldwide, exile lasts years or even decades," said the UNHCR.

The private sector made the broadest range of commitments for the forcibly displaced, it said, adding providing employment opportunities for refugees had seen "strong support" that was "crucial for allowing refugees to regain dignity and give back to the communities they live in."

In addition to humanitarian and development pledges, more than $250 million was pledged by business groups.

At least 15,000 jobs will be available to refugees through these initiatives, as will some 125,000 hours per year of pro bono legal counseling.

Grandi added that the forum, with 3,000 registered participants, was the biggest event the UNHCR had managed in its history.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on day two of the forum, said "global forced displacement has been rising steadily in recent years."