International Experiences with Community-based Sponsorships for Refugees

Can we rethink how we help refugees to access safety while at the same time strengthening their reception and contributing to a successful integration?

Ever since the Canadian government implemented a new refugee model in the late 1970’s based on the involvement of community actors in welcoming and integrating newly arrived refugees, ideas on community-based sponsorships for refugees have spread and gained international attention.

In Europe, interest in community-based sponsorships as a way to expand refugee resettlement and enhance protection and integration has grown, and new models are being piloted and implemented in a number of countries, including most recently in Germany, United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain.

The results are positive and concrete. The relationships between refugees and local communities are strengthened and refugees experience a smoother integration into the job market and society as a whole.

At the same time, the community-based sponsorship models express the objectives in the Global Compact on Refugees, adopted last year, and truly embody the commitments made by world leaders to provide safe and legal pathways for refugees, thereby saving lives and fighting the business of human trafficking.

Should Denmark follow in the footsteps of other countries, drawing from their experiences and building on the already strong and vital voluntary efforts in Danish civil society? We believe that the time has come to explore this question and to look into the qualities and possibilities of a community-based sponsorship model in a Danish context.

Organized by UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Amnesty Danmark

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