A compact agreement is an innovative model for bringing together donors, development and humanitarian agencies, the private sector, and civil society under host-country leadership to achieve sustainable outcomes for refugees and host communities. We offer three key principles and 10 recommendations for policymakers to build effective compacts for refugee-hosting nations.

Thousands of people in Idlib, Syria, are living in dire conditions under constant threat of airstrikes. A Syrian health worker describes the trauma they are experiencing.

This report underlines the importance of a coordinated and collaborative approach to emergency response in urban areas. The recommendations, addressed primarily to humanitarian actors, reflect lessons learned from the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) initial emergency response programming on the island of Lesbos, Greece, between September 2015 and March 2016.

Through counseling and creative activities, thirteen-year-old Nada regained a sense of hope, security and confidence.

The results of the U.S. presidential election are in with Donald Trump as the next President of the United States. The International Rescue Committee calls on the Trump administration to continue America’s traditions of humanitarian leadership and care for the most vulnerable. We remain committed to the safety, dignity, and well-being of our clients and staff and to upholding core principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence.

In June 2015, International Rescue Committee president David Miliband visited Nigerian refugees in Niger, where more than 150,000 have found safety after fleeing ongoing violence in their country. 

Within 72 hours of global emergencies, IRC delivers healthcare, water, protection, and economic support to 123 million displaced people worldwide.

East Africa is facing its worst drought in 40 years, with over 1.4 million people displaced by drought in Somalia alone. Learn more about drought, what causes it, and how we can support those most impacted.

The Global Compact on Refugees, an international agreement adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2018, aimed to make the responsibility for helping refugees worldwide more equitable and predictable. Three years on, and ahead of the first mid-term review of progress at a high-level meeting in December 2021, the International Rescue Committee in collaboration with Danish Refugee Council and Norwegian Refugee Council, have commissioned a report to assess progress on the Compact’s objectives and commitments.