Resettlement Diplomacy Network Senior Officials Meeting

From April 29 to May 1, 2024, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) Julieta Valls Noyes convened the third Senior Officials Meeting of the Resettlement Diplomacy Network (RDN) in Washington, DC. Under the chairship of the United States, senior government officials from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom, along with representatives of the European Commission, participated in the exchange.

The meeting provided an opportunity for participating states to review the impact of the RDN's work since its inaugural ministerial meeting in September 2023 and to assess priorities for continued collective action on refugee resettlement and complementary pathways that help strengthen the global protection system.

Participants discussed the use of the Emergency Coordination Platform established within the RDN (also known as the "Red Phone" mechanism) to facilitate rapid collaboration on situations of shared concern, including continued focus on providing safety to Afghan refugees in need of protection. In addition, participants reflected on lessons from previous emergency responses to large-scale displacement and discussed opportunities to work together to strengthen the global resettlement and complementary protection pathways system, including by strengthening existing emergency transit infrastructure, using innovative refugee resettlement referral mechanisms, and leveraging community-driven sponsorship models. Finally, participants discussed the Safe Mobility initiative and further opportunities for coordination on infrastructure to support pathways to resettlement.

The United States launched the RDN in September 2022. Pathways International and the Migration Policy Institute support the U.S. chairship of the RDN as the RDN secretariat.