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30 Int'l J. Refugee L. 611 (2018)
The Unfinished Work of the Global Compact on Refugees

handle is hein.journals/intjrl30 and id is 623 raw text is: International Journal of Refugee Law, 2018, Vol 30, No 4,611-617 doi: 10.1093/ijrl/eey0S7 The Unfinished Work of the Global Compact on Refugees T Alexander Aleinikoff* As a result of a mass flow of Syrian refugees and African migrants across the Mediterranean, which peaked in 2015, European States wanted something done at the international level. The United Nations (UN) General Assembly responded by con- vening a 'high-level plenary meeting on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants' the following year. In ways not fully anticipated by those who pressed for the high-level meeting, the General Assembly's New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants addressed issues considerably broader than the Mediterranean question. It affirmed fundamental inter- national and human rights norms relating to the movement of people across borders (while recognizing the sovereign right of States to control their borders), noted the positive contribution migrants make to the social and economic development of host States, pledged to combat xenophobia and discrimination, and committed to address- ing the root causes of mass migration. The Global Compact on Refugees (Refugee Compact) and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (Migration Compact) were envisioned to embody and promote these and other commitments. The co-facilitators of the Migration Compact have stated that its 23 (23!) objectives are intended to establish an 'ecosystem' for international cooperation on migration - a purpose decidedly more capacious than the circumstances that gave rise to the New York Declaration. The Refugee Compact makes no real effort to address the large flow of refugees arriving in the global North; there is no commitment to permit those who arrive to apply for asylum, no rules established for where interdicted and rescued forced migrants should be taken, and nothing to prevent the walls going (or staying) up in Europe. Instead, the Refugee Compact pursues two overarching goals. First, it affirms a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder approach to refugee situations. The big idea here is that development actors have a vital role to play in responding to refugee emergencies and protracted situations. Secondly, the Refugee Compact urges greater assistance to front-line countries hosting refugees. In provision after provision, 'States and relevant stakeholders' are asked to contribute 'resources and expertise' to host States - to their University Professor, and Director of the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility, The New School, New York. © The Author(s) (2018). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com 611

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