Spotlight Session

Sponsored by: GSMA, ITU, UNHCR

Achieving meaningful connectivity for refugees and their hosting communities

16 December 2019, 15:00 – 16:30
Room XXVI, Palais des Nations, Geneva

Over the last 25 years, the internet and mobile communications have transformed life in the industrialized and developing worlds alike. Nevertheless, displaced people are often living without the connectivity they need to obtain vital information, to communicate with loved ones, to access basic services, and to create ties to the local, national and global communities that exist around them. The places where displaced people reside frequently lack digital networks and infrastructure, and the cost of connecting is often prohibitive to economically challenged populations.

UNHCR believes that refugees and the communities that host them should have the right, and the choice, to be included in a connected society. This can only be achieved through effective partnership and creative collaboration between governments, NGOs, civil society organisations, the private sector — namely Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) — and technology companies inc. satellite and ICT infrastructure companies. This emphasis encompasses broadband adoption that is not just available, accessible, relevant and affordable, but that is also safe, trusted, empowering users and leading to positive impact.

In this session, UNHCR, alongside co-sponsoring organisations the GSMA and the ITU, will explore challenges around delivering connectivity for refugees and their hosting populations, and the opportunities provided through the approaches outlined in the Global Compact on Refugees. The session will cover topics such as:

• How inclusion in national telecommunications / ICT policies frameworks can spur further investment and support refugee hosting populations, specifically with forms of identification that facilitate their digital and financial inclusion;
• How the private sector can actively contribute to digital inclusion of refugees in a sustainable manner;
• How marginalised or vulnerable groups such as women and girls, and people with disabilities can be included;
• How collective efforts to increase digital skills will drive adoption and lower barriers to entry for all;
• How actors supporting connectivity initiatives can ensure refugees and their hosting populations can connect with confidence and stay safe online.