A brief history of the Global Compact on Refugees in four graphs

Since the adoption of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) in 2018, the international community has worked tirelessly to implement it. From making pledges and joining initiatives to attending Global Refugee Forums (GRF) and sharing good practices, the depth and breadth of the work is astonishing. The biennial GCR Indicator Report contains detailed analysis of the progress towards achieving the Compact’s four objectives, to:

1. ease pressures on host countries;
2. enhance refugee self-reliance;
3. expand access to third-country solutions; and
4. support conditions in countries of origin for return in safety and dignity.

But what if we take a step back? Here, we explore some of the GCR’s journey so far¹ through four graphs.

From promises to action

Since the first GRF in 2019, thousands of individual pledges have been made by actors including States, refugees, NGOs, the private sector, faith leaders, and civil society. More than one in four active pledges have been reported as fulfilled. This excludes pledges which were recently archived.

While progress can be seen throughout the six years to December 2025, the number of fulfilled pledges more than tripled between January 2023 and the end of last year. This shows that despite the increasingly difficult environment in which humanitarian work is operating, the commitment to and belief in the GCR have not wavered.

Disparity among objectives

But this progress has not been equal. Looking at contributions towards the multi-stakeholder pledges – umbrella pledges bringing together actors working on specific areas – the majority of support has been for broad, non-objective-specific measures, such as partnerships and protection, and towards the second GCR objective of enhancing refugee self-reliance. Meanwhile, the analysis suggests that the number of commitments towards the third and fourth objectives is lagging behind.

Most commitments under multi-stakeholder pledges – between half and three quarters – are still in progress. Proportionately, the most fulfilled pledges are of those supporting regional, situation-specific work, such as for Rohingya and Afghan refugees (13.5 per cent fulfilled) and for third-country solutions (11.8 per cent fulfilled).

Although it is the GCR objective with the most commitments, enhancing self-reliance has the smallest percentage of fulfilled pledges at only six per cent of the 718 made.

Overall, the lack of reporting on progress remains a challenge, with up to a third of pledges yet to be updated.

GRF reports

Centring meaningful refugee participation

Another key pillar of the Global Compact on Refugees is making sure people with lived experience of displacement have a real and central role in decisions made about them. This requires their full involvement throughout all stages of turning the Compact into action, from planning to delivery to reporting. It requires more than just allowing them to talk; it requires us to listen. To give them a proper seat at the table.