Reports and Resources
The IRC uses our learning and experience to assist people affected by crisis and shape humanitarian policy and practice. Browse our research and resources.
Rescuing Futures: Europe’s Vital Role in Refugee Resettlement
At a time when over 65 million people globally have been forced from their homes, this report—which follows IRC’s policy brief Pathways to Protection—makes the case for increased and improved refugee resettlement in Europe. The report calls on the EU to play a central role in refugee resettlement, including through the establishment of an ambitious EU Resettlement Framework that safeguards the humanitarian essence of resettlement and promotes the integration of resettled refugees. The report also provides concrete recommendations for the EU and its Member States to ensure that the number of resettlement places are increased in Europe, meaning more lives are saved, more protection is provided to the most vulnerable, and more futures are rescued.
Joint comments paper: European Commission proposal for a regulation establishing a Union Resettlement Framework
Joint comments paper: European Commission proposal for a regulation establishing a Union Resettlement Framework
Identify Me: The Documentation Crisis in Northern Syria
The Syrian conflict is one of the most complex humanitarian crises the international community has faced, with tremendous consequences for current and future generations. One of the largest underreported issues is the loss or lack of identity documents, namely birth and marriage certificates.
Protection of Civilians in and from Mosul Briefing - October 2016
Starting in January 2014, ISIS took over large areas of Anbar and Ninewa governorates, as well as areas of Kirkuk and elsewhere. Operations to clear these areas from ISIS control and prepare for an advance on Mosul – a city 400 km north of Baghdad currently under ISIS control – have been occurring since 2015. On 17 October 2016, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi announced that military operations to re-take Mosul from ISIS had commenced.
European Refugee Crisis Situational Briefing - 2016 October
A long-term refugee crisis, with thousands stranded in substandard camps, has unfolded on European soil. On the Greek islands, 14,331 men, women and children await possible return to Turkey and the Greek Government reports 60,788 people of concern across the country. With increased border restrictions, some 6,000 refugees are now in Serbia, stretching the capacities of accommodation facilities. Close to 1,000 people are sleeping rough in the capital or at the two transit zones on the border with Hungary while the weather is turning increasingly colder. The refugee crisis is part of a new global norm, in which unusually large numbers of people are displaced for longer than ever before, and where the disparity between their needs and provision is growing by the week. Europe's first priority must be to meet the humanitarian needs of refugees who have already arrived, and to process their asylum claims, family reunion and relocation transfers quickly. Denied safe pathways into Europe, significantly more refugees are risking their lives by travelling via smuggling routes through the Balkans. Elsewhere in Europe, desperate people also continue to make the dangerous sea voyage from Libya to Italy. The proposed Union Resettlement Scheme represents a major opportunity for the EU to step up to its global responsibilities. An Immediate increase in resettlement efforts is required to offer safe routes of entry for those seeking sanctuary, alongside a robust and humane system to receive spontaneous arrivals. The UN estimates that 10% of the global refugee population - the most vulnerable - need resettlement. The IRC calculates that the European share is a minimum of 540,000 over the next five years, or 108,000 per year.
Forced displacement in urban areas: what needs to be done
The issue of how the global community can effectively address forced displacement is prominent on the international agenda. Displacement levels are the highest ever recorded with roughly 65 million people forcibly displaced around the world, including over 21 million refugees, three million asylum-seekers and over 40 million internally displaced persons (IDPs).
More than Six Months Stranded – What Now?
Over six months since the closure of Greece’s northern border and the introduction of the EU-Turkey deal, this policy brief—prepared jointly by 12 national and international organizations operational in Greece—outlines the current context for the over 60,000 people now stranded within the country’s borders.
European Refugee Crisis Situational Briefing - 2016 September
A long-term refugee crisis, with thousands stranded in substandard camps, has unfolded on European soil. On the Greek islands 12,515 men, women and children await possible return to Turkey and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has identified 59,569 people of concern across the country. The refugee crisis is part of a new global normal, in which unusually large numbers of people are displaced for longer than ever before, and where the disparity between their needs and provision is growing by the week. Europe's first priority must be to meet the humanitarian needs of refugees who have already arrived, and to process their asylum claims, family reunion and relocation transfers quickly. The EU-Turkey deal has not dampened the desperation of people attempting to reach sanctuary in Europe. Denied safe pathways into Europe, significantly more refugees are risking their lives by travelling via smuggling routes through the Balkans. Elsewhere in Europe, desperate people also continue to make the dangerous sea voyage from Libya to Italy. Resettlement of refugees must be a core part of a new global pact. Immediate increase in national resettlement efforts is required to offer safe routes of entry for those seeking sanctuary. EU decision makers must now step up to their responsibility and work to adopt the Union Resettlement Framework with annual targets that will make a real impact. The UN estimates that 10% of the global refugee population - the most vulnerable - need resettlement. IRC calculates that the European share is a minimum of 540,000 over the next five years, or 108,000 per year.
Brussels Speech 7 September
Summary of David Miliband's speech in Brussels.
Global Alliance for Urban Crises - Adapting Global Crisis Response to an Urban World Action Plan - Commitments
The Global Alliance for Urban Crises is a global, multi-disciplinary and collaborative community of practice. It is a ‘network of networks’ working to prevent, prepare for and effectively respond to humanitarian crises in urban settings. The Global Alliance for Urban Crises (the Alliance) is an initiative that arose out of consultations for the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS), during which a number of committed organisations led an urban expert group and developed a series of Urban Recommendations. The Alliance is the vehicle through which these recommendations will be put into action. It is guided by a series of principles as laid out in the Urban Crises Charter. The Alliance will be formally launched during a Special Session at the WHS, where institutional and joint commitments will be made by Alliance partners and delivered over the next three to five years.