High Commissioner's Dialogue on Protection Challenges: Protection and Resilience during Pandemics

The theme of the 2020 Dialogue was “Protection and Resilience during Pandemics”.

The Dialogue focused on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the protection and resilience of refugees and people who are internally displaced or stateless and their host communities. 

Participants reflected upon how to address the pressing protection and solutions questions that have emerged, building upon the international refugee protection regime and principles and arrangements set out in the Global Compact on Refugees. 

The measures taken to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic have significant consequences for the protection, health, socio-economic welfare and resilience of forcibly displaced and stateless people and their host communities. They have also affected opportunities to identify solutions. Actions that States and other actors are taking now could shape how international protection will look in future pandemics.

Many States and other actors have developed new and innovative approaches to ensure protection and address the impacts both in the emergency response and  the medium and longer term. This Dialogue identified such promising practices and shared lessons learned in the pandemic to promote protection, access to services and resilience outcomes.