Key Points
- More than 114 million people are displaced globally.
- Australia is pledging $265 million to help refugees overseas in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sudan.
- In August, Australia's annual refugee intake was increased from 17,875 to 20,000 places.
The federal government has pledged $265 million to support refugees and sustain humanitarian efforts overseas.
About $235 million will go towards supporting displaced Rohingya and communities in need in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
A further $20 million has been allocated to Afghanistan, while $10 million will go towards supporting people in Sudan and those displaced to neighbouring countries.
The funding pledge was made at the United Nations' Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, where Australia also reaffirmed its commitment to the Global Compact on Refugees.
"We are seeing the largest displacement crisis unfolding in modern history, with more than 114 million people displaced globally," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.
"Our humanitarian assistance is part of a broader effort to address the causes of displacement and find durable solutions."
In August, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles announced Australia's humanitarian resettlement program would increase to 20,000 places annually from 17,875, representing the highest core intake in more than a decade.
"Through our pledges, Australia is firmly committed to supporting refugees globally and the communities that host them at a time where there are more people forcibly displaced than ever before," Giles said in a statement on Saturday.
"The Albanese Government is committed to working with others globally to find practical, and sustainable solutions for the increasingly complex situations driving displacement, such as through the adoption of machine-readable refugee travel documents."
The federal government also recently established a refugee advisory panel to ensure those with lived experience advise on Australia's settlement programs.
Aid helping to 'stem tide of misery'
Countries and businesses attending the two-day UN forum in Geneva pledged a total of US$2.2 billion ($3.3 billion) towards a global displacement crisis and promised jobs for tens of thousands of refugees in an outcome the United Nations chief said would help "stem the tide of misery".
Thousands of people from aid agencies, businesses and civil society as well as refugees joined the Geneva event as the number of displaced people globally surpasses a record 114 million amid conflict, poverty and climate change.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi said he was pleased and proud of the outcome that comes as the U.N. agency faces severe funding shortfalls and tries to counter a burgeoning Western narrative that casts refugees as a threat.
"This work is so necessary for the world as you know continues to confront deeply troubling times," he told the forum in closing remarks.
"The state of the world requires a reboot of humanity and energy to meet the challenges before us, including that of forced displacement."
However, in a sign of the challenges UNHCR faces, Grandi criticised those trying "to block multilateral humanitarian action for political reasons," an apparent riposte to Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto who advocated stronger border curbs for migrants at the forum.
UNHCR hosts the Global Refugee Forum every four years under a framework to share responsibilities for refugees fairly.
During the three-day event, the seven millionth person was displaced by Sudan's raging conflict, Grandi said, and he called for steps to avoid a Gaza refugee crisis.
As well as financial promises, countries also pledged to take in one million refugees from third countries by 2030.
Companies, including IKEA store owner Ingka Group, said they would help 100,000 refugees find jobs.
"This forum is helping to stem the tide of misery," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in closing remarks, after citing humanitarian crises in Myanmar, Yemen, Somalia and Gaza.
"(The pledges) give me hope that we can forge global consensus to address once and for all the great challenges of our time that are fuelling the refugee crisis."
