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FMR 64
78 COVID-19: early reflections
www.fmreview.org/issue64 June 2020

Refugee-led organisations should also be Research Network https://carleton.ca/lerrn
included as part of the multilateral response Anila Noor nooranila@hotmail.com
to COVID-19, not only as implementers Steering Committee Member, Global Refugee-led
but as equal partners in planning. Network www.globalrefugeelednetwork.org
In policy, refugee-led organisations
need to be equal partners in discussions Najeeba Wazefadost
around how State responses to COVID-19 najeeba.w.coordinator@gmail.com
are affecting all communities, including Founding Member, Global Refugee-led Network
refugees. They also need to be part of and Asia Pacific Network of Refugees
the planning for how the international @APNORefugees
community will continue to pursue global Pascal Zigashane zigashanepascal@gmail.com
goals such as the Sustainable Development Executive Director, URISE Initiative for Africa
Goals, both during and after the pandemic. https://uriseforafrica.org
As detailed in GRN’s Guidelines for
Meaningful Refugee Participation, this 1. See reports from LERRN partners on local contexts in Jordan,
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Lebanon, Kenya and Tanzania
involvement in policy processes must https://carleton.ca/lerrn/covid-19-updates-from-our-partners/
be substantive rather than cosmetic, and 2. UNHCR (2020) ‘Age, Gender and Diversity Considerations –
have the capacity to affect outcomes. COVID-19’ www.refworld.org/docid/5e84a9dd4.html
Likewise, research on the impact 3. UN (2020) Global Humanitarian Response Plan
of COVID-19 on refugees must include bit.ly/UN-Global-Plan-COVID19-2020
4. www.globalrefugeelednetwork.org/pledge/
refugees in all stages of the research 5. See for example
process, from design to data collection bit.ly/LERRN-Refugee-Participation-Kakuma-Nairobi;
and analysis and the presentation of bit.ly/RSC-Refugees-Social-Protection-Kenya-Uganda
findings. The inclusion of refugees will 6. Global Refugee-led Network (2019) Meaningful Refugee
lead to research that is better informed by Participation as Transformative Leadership: Guidelines for Concrete
Action bit.ly/GRN-Refugee-Participation-Guidelines-2019
the realities it seeks to explain and more 7. A version of this article first appeared as ‘By refugees, for
likely to alleviate the suffering it studies. refugees: Refugee leadership during COVID-19, and beyond’ in
These are important lessons not only the Kaldor Centre’s COVID-19 Watch blog, 20 April 2020
for our response to COVID-19 but beyond. bit.ly/Kaldor-Refugee-Leadership-200420
It remains to be seen if governments,
international organisations, NGOs and
other actors will emerge from the pandemic #ByRefugees – during COVID-19
willing to recognise the role that refugee- In May–June 2020, the Refugee Studies Centre
led responses can play, or simply default hosted a series of seminars on ‘Strengthening
to the old model of viewing refugees as refugee-led humanitarian response during the
the passive recipients of assistance. As COVID-19 pandemic’. The panellists, which
the global refugee regime seeks to rebuild include practitioners, policy influencers, funders
from this pandemic, it will be important and community responders (and of which the
to recognise how strong, meaningful and majority are refugees), looked at how refugees
substantive refugee participation can are responding to the current crisis, reflected on
help ensure that we build back better. how they can be supported by external actors,
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Mustafa Alio mustafa.alio@jumpstartrefugee.ca and considered the prospects for creating lasting
Managing Director and Co-Founder, Jumpstart forms of participatory humanitarian governance.
Refugee Talent www.rcjp.ca Series conveners: Shaza Al Rihawi, Anila Noor,
Najeeba Wazefadost and Mustafa Alio (Global
Shaza Alrihawi alrihawishaza@gmail.com Refugee-led Network) with Alexander Betts and
Interim Chair, Global Refugee-led Network Andonis Marden (Refugee Studies Centre).
www.globalrefugeelednetwork.org
Recordings of all webinars available at
James Milner James.Milner@carleton.ca bit.ly/RSC__YouTube
Project Director, Local Engagement Refugee