Supported by UNHCR
Mission
The mission of the Global Refugee Accommodation Working Group (GRAWG) is to unite key stakeholders, including refuge and resettlement states, United Nations agencies, academia, and non-government organizations/non-profits together to collaboratively ensure global and cross-sector coordination, communication, and collaboration on accommodation, shelter, and housing (ASH) challenges and opportunities to ensure dignified and safe living situations for people on the move worldwide.
© UNHCR/Jeoffrey Guillemard
Background
The Global Refugee Accommodation Working Group was born during the 2023 Consultations on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways (CRCP), formerly known as the Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement (ATCR). Stakeholders from across the globe observed that housing is one of the, if not the, most pressing issues for all resettlement states. Yet, there was no space devoted to housing in the CRCP or any other high-level global forum on resettlement. To raise the visibility of this issue and begin to address it, Church World Service and the Irish government issued a call to action to form a dedicated working group around housing under the CRCP. The group was to gather all relevant stakeholders from all levels to explore and share solutions, new and old; to collaborate and to learn from one another; and to keep appraised of the latest developments around housing for refugees. Since 2023, the group has steadily grown its membership and evolved to become the go-to platform for stakeholders seeking models, new ways of thinking, and effective solutions to the problem of finding safe, affordable, and decent housing for resettled refugees across the globe.
GRAWG leadership at the CRCP Working Group Meeting in Sydney, Australia | February 2024
Leadership & Members
The Global Refugee Accommodation Working Group is led by the Government of Ireland (the Irish Refugee Protection Programme) and Church World Service, Inc. (CWS). CWS is committed to and will remain the permanent Co-Chair and Secretariat of the working group, leading activities such as, but not limited to, developing draft annual project outcomes, website maintenance, and meeting facilitation with the support of a State Co-Chair to increase visibility, credibility and reach of other State actors. The Global Refugee Accommodation Working Group is in the process of solidifying a new government Co-Chair after a two-year term served by the Government of Ireland.
Members of the Global Refugee Accommodation Working Group include participating resettlement state agencies from all over the world; the UNHCR; and local and international NGOs involved in resettlement efforts. Members typically attend four meetings (either virtual or in-person) annually including symposiums and webinars.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads international action to protect people forced to flee because of conflict and persecution. UNHCR delivers life-saving assistance like shelter, water and other basic necessities; helps safeguard fundamental human rights; and develops solutions that ensure people have a safe place to call home where they can build a better future.
Achievements
GRAWG is quickly becoming the leading platform for finding and reflecting on the most promising solutions around the most intractable problem facing refugee resettlement programs all over the globe: access to safe, affordable, and decent housing. GRAWG is the only platform of its kind, co-chaired by the Irish government and Church World Service. It uniquely brings together governments, NGOs, international organizations, the private sector, and academia. Key achievements to date include:
- Developed and launched authoritative country-specific housing policy source in a unique digital interactive journey format. Thus far, GRAWG has published two country journeys. The source can be accessed here:
- Held regular meetings featuring members from all sectors and countries across the globe.
- Organized multiple webinars and events. These have gathered stakeholders around the globe in a setting where they have learned from leading experts on housing. To learn more about these events please visit:
- Cemented its role within the Consultations on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways (CRCP; former ATCR) with its own yearly panel(s) and invitation-only side event.
- Invited to speak as experts on housing at international in-person and online conferences.
- Advised several governments, NGOs, and private stakeholders on topics ranging from crisis preparedness to effectively engaging local authorities and other local stakeholders.
Focus Areas
Fostering further inclusion and participation from resettlement stakeholders across the globe (while maintaining relationships within current network), striking a fair balance between geography, the size of resettlement program, and type of engagement when it comes to housing solutions. We aim to do this through:
- Strategic networking.
- Increased web and public presence.
- Bilateral and multilateral meetings.
- Promotions at conferences, in particular CRCP.
Cementing GRAWG as the leading platform for knowledge exchange on housing, to provide highly useful information to all types of programs and stakeholders and insert the issue of housing more forcefully on the policy agenda. We aim to do this by:
- Continue holding regular meetings.
- Continue organizing 3-4 solutions- and outcome-focused webinars and events per year on the most pressing issues on housing.
- Engaging more actively with the UNHCR 2030 Roadmap and other housing policy frameworks.
Becoming the go-to source on information on national and sub-national housing policies, the most promising solutions, and the place where all stakeholders can turn to find suggested standards for housing that allows refugees from all walks of life to truly feel safe and home in their new countries. We aim to do this through:
- Continue developing and expanding our authoritative Housing Policy Source.
- Writing briefs, memos, and op-eds, for broad and engaging reach.
- Developing suggested global housing minimum standards, and promoting them.
Expanding GRAWG’s thematic scope, while safeguarding knowledge of resettlement. The heart of GRAWG lies in resettlement, and will continue to do so. However, recognizing that resettlement programmes are facing existential challenges, GRAWG will seek to safeguard existing knowledge withing programs, so that it can be consulted if/when these programs scale back up. But we also recognize the need to address the housing issue through broader and different lenses, which is why we aim to:
- Expand the thematic scope including, but not limited to, housing for asylum seekers, housing in refugee camps, along the route housing challenges/solutions, housing alternatives to immigrant detention, other vulnerable groups who share similar challenges to refugees. The permanent co-chair CWS is in a unique position here, having long experience with many kinds of situations of forced displacement and catastrophes across the globe.
© 2025 Church World Service / Privacy Policy