How trade concessions can improvere fugee self-reliance

The COVID-19 pandemic has further revealed the deep vulnerability of refugee populations around the world. The pandemic has exacerbated the precarity of refugees’ lives in terms of access to hygiene and health facilities, decent housing and livelihoods, creating a ‘double emergency’ situation. This compels UN agencies and their partners to double down on mobilizing efforts to support emergency responses. However, as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi noted, securing the self-reliance of refugees and the resilience of their host communities remains important. Granting trade concessions to countries hosting large number of refugees would be a novel way to do this.