On 17-18 December 2019, on the occasion of the first Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, the Council of Europe highlighted areas where it can provide an added value, namely in the sphere of protection of the human rights of refugees.

Representing the Council of Europe at the Global Refugee Forum, the Director of Human Rights, Christophe Poirel, underlined the importance of multilateral co-operation: “Time has come for enhancing multilateral co-operation, for increasing synergies, to ensure that the fundamental rights of those who had to flee their countries of origin due to wars or other reasons are respected. The well-recognised acquis of human rights standards of the Council of Europe in the larger international cooperation context, such as this Forum, could be a good basis to enhance our collective efforts,” he said in his statement.

In light of the Council of Europe’s long-standing cooperation with the UNHCR, the Special Representative of the Secretary General on migration and refugees has closely been following and contributing to the Global Compact on Refugees and sent his written comments after having participated in the consultation phase of the Compact. A concrete example of the Council of Europe´s contribution is the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees, developed in the framework of the Action Plan on Protecting Refugee and Migrant Children in Europe (2017-2019).