In 2018, the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) was endorsed by 181 of UN’s member states, which thereby expressed support to developing refugee policies that enables refugees to become self-reliant and that ensure equitable international responsibility-sharing to support host countries and communities. Five years later, the progressive vision of the Global Compact on Refugees has not systematically taken root. Most of the world’s refugees are still living in protracted situations where they are unable to benefit from inclusion and remain dependent on indecent welfare to survive. The costly humanitarian approach prevails although it is not designed to cope with the protracted refugee situations. Financial burden and responsibility sharing has not been achieved, and the future financial resources for refugees are projected to decline making mitigation and implementation by national institutions and actors a necessity. It is time for a reset to address the main obstacles to achieving the visions of the Global Compact. This paper discusses how and by who this reset can materialize through a more central role of states.
