Monaco restates its commitment at the second Global Refugee Forum

Le Panel de Haut Niveau sur l’éducation supérieure et l’autonomie des Réfugiés © DR

A Monegasque delegation* led by Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, took part in the second Global Refugee Forum in Geneva from 13 to 15 December. The theme of this year’s Forum was refugees’ access to higher education and their participation and representation in the change process.

This second Forum, organised by the High Commission for Refugees (HCR) four years after the first, aims to measure progress made since 2019, and provide a space for governments and other stakeholders to announce new commitments and take stock of the challenges and opportunities of the future. The number of refugees and displaced persons has tripled since 2010: 130.8 million people are involved, that is more than 1% of the world’s population. Among these people, over half the refugee children have no access to education.

At the High-Level Panel on Higher Education and the Autonomy of Refugees, Mrs Rosabrunetto deplored “the double penalty suffered by children and young refugees in the area of education: not only is their schooling interrupted by their migratory journey, but once in the host country they come up against administrative, financial or legal barriers to continuing their studies”.

She therefore restated the commitment of the Principality to the socio-economic integration of young refugees, migrants and displaced persons, through education and the development of basic and professional skills.

The RECAPREF** initiative, implemented in collaboration with the HCR and the Bioforce Institute, has demonstrated this commitment since 2021: this involves opening up a ‘university corridor’ to refugees, a different route to access higher education that promotes their empowerment. Mrs Rosabrunetto highlighted the excellent results of this programme at the plenary session of this second Forum.

The Prince’s Government has also made a commitment to renew this initiative from 2025, within the framework of the HCR ‘15 by 30’ Roadmap that aims to achieve a figure of 15% of refugees enrolled in higher education by 2030. With the same aim in mind, and also from 2025, Monaco has made a commitment to the ‘Maison de la Liberté Académique’ in Paris, a programme providing access for refugee students to Sciences Po Paris.

Finally, this second Forum was an opportunity to reiterate the Principality’s commitment to making the participation of refugees more systematic, inclusive and significant, as shown by its actions under its cooperation policy to promote the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees and the rights-based approach.

* The Monegasque delegation was made up of:

- Mrs Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Head of Delegation, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation;

- H.E. Mrs Carole Lanteri, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Principality to the Office of the United Nations in Geneva;

- Mrs Elodie Martin, Head of Programmes at the Department of International Cooperation;

- Mrs Mathilde Pasta, Third Secretary at the Monaco Embassy in Geneva.

** ‘Capacity Building for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in West Africa’