As they were about to embark on their journey, an immigrant family snapped a photo by the porthole of the aircraft cabin.
The Joint UNHCR and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) today released a report on Safe Pathways for Refugees, showing a significant increase in the number of study, work, family reunification and sponsorship permits granted to refugees in OECD countries and Brazil.
In 2022, nearly 215,000 permits were issued to individuals displaced by conflict and crisis in 37 OECD countries and Brazil, an increase of about 38% compared to 2021, according to the report.
This compares to about 156,000 licenses issued in 2021, compared to a figure of about 127,000 in 2020.
The report focuses on entry permits issued by OECD countries and Brazil to individuals from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Syria and Venezuela.
Overall, European countries issued 56% of all licenses, while the Americas accounted for 39%. Germany and Canada provide the most work, study and family reunification entry permits for refugees from these seven countries.
Family reunification
Notably, family reunification permits accounted for more than 50% of all permits issued in 2022, and work and study permits also showed a steady increase.
UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Ruven Menikdiwela, stressed the importance of these complementary pathways for refugees in the context of increasing global displacement.
She said that developing regions host most of the world's refugees, and that secondary pathways for third-country admitting refugees can help better protect them, provide them with opportunities to contribute to their new communities, and relieve enormous pressure on host countries.
She also stressed the importance of family reunification permits, saying that this was not only a human right, but also the most reliable third-country solution.
A safe, legal route
Menik DuVera also commended the efforts of governments and partners to ensure safe and legal access for refugees, in line with UNHCR's Roadmap 2030.
The roadmap seeks to expand third-country solutions by 2030 and increase the number of refugees departing through the assisted route to 2.1 million.
The roadmap also stresses the importance of improving data collection to inform policy decisions and to strengthen the inclusion of refugees in the regular migration pipeline.
The roadmap urges States and stakeholders to maintain sustained cooperative efforts to ensure that refugees have the right to secure and sustainable pathways to rebuilding their lives.
