ILO at the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025

Geneva

Making returns sustainable and supporting reintegration in today's world

Scaling refugee employment: policy, partnerships and labour mobility

Switzerland

The ILO will participate in some sessions of the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025, a high-level international meeting convened by the UNHCR under the framework of the Global Compact on Refugees to assess and reinforce collective action for refugees and host communities.&nbsp; The forum, held every four years, brings together governments, international organizations, civil society, refugees themselves, and other stakeholders. The Review builds on the pledges and commitments made at the Global Refugee Forum 2023, stocktakes progress on their implementation at national, regional, and global levels, and aims to mobilize renewed support and outline priorities in the lead-up to the next Global Refugee Forum in 2027, with particular focus on expanding support, enhancing accountability, and directing efforts toward areas needing further assistance.

Refugee employment—whether in host countries, online or through labour mobility—remains a key driver of inclusive growth and self-reliance. While 62% of refugees have legal access to labour markets, only 47% enjoy unrestricted access in practice, highlighting persistent gaps.&nbsp; Advancing refugee employment requires coordinated, multi-stakeholder action to address legal and practical constraints, create jobs, strengthen rights at work in line with decent work and fair recruitment principles, and expand skills-based pathways. This spotlight session, part of the <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/events/global-refugee-forum-progress-review-2025">Global Refugee Forum Progress Review</a>, will explore how policies, partnerships, and financing can move from pilots to scalable solutions. It will highlight impactful practices that reinforce foundational support systems, including skills development, credential recognition, documentation, and freedom of movement. At the Global Refugee Forum in 2023, the Multi-Stakeholder Pledges (MSP) on Economic Inclusion and Social Protection and on Skills-Based Pathways mobilized record commitments from governments, private-sector actors, development partners, civil society, and others. Many pledges contribute to both initiatives, reflecting the interconnected nature of efforts to expand refugee access to decent work—whether through local economic inclusion or international labour mobility. Interpretation available: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish

Geneva International Conference Center, GICC

By June 2025, the global forcibly displaced people population stood at 117.3 million. Between January and June 2025, almost 2 million refugees and nearly 5 million internally displaced people returned to their countries and places of origin.&nbsp;These returns took place under diverse conditions, often in adverse circumstances including in contexts of fragile security, damaged infrastructure, and limited access to services and economic opportunities. Supporting voluntary, safe, and sustainable returns requires addressing these challenges, while also tackling the root causes of displacement and investing in peacebuilding and conflict prevention.This spotlight session as part of the progress review programme will focus on advancing Objective 4 of the Global Ccompact on Refugees (GCR): Support conditions in countries of origin for return in safety and dignity. Interpretation available: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish.

ILO at the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025

Full schedule

Monday, 15 December 2025

Tuesday, 16 December 2025