Seventy-five years after its adoption, the 1951 Refugee Convention is facing its most serious test yet. More than 50 million people forced from their homes now depend on the protections it established. Yet, the system meant to support displaced people is under sustained stress: humanitarian funding fell by more than $31 billion in 2025, and global resettlement commitments dropped by more than half. Drawing on IRC programmatic evidence across 40 countries, this report finds that governments are cutting refugees' path to permanent status, capping integration programs, and scaling back resettlement even as displacement increases.

The findings point to a system under strain, not a framework that has failed. The report calls for three shifts: properly resourcing asylum and reception systems to ensure timely and accurate decisionmaking of well-founded claims; replacing temporary status with predictable pathways to permanent residence and citizenship, paired with early investment in workforce integration; and renewed global cooperation, including honoring pledges under the Global Compact on Refugees and expanding financing for the low- and middle-income countries hosting 68% of the world's refugees.

Released to mark the Convention's 75th anniversary, the report argues the choice ahead is not whether solutions exist, but whether governments will act on them.

Available documents & links