The 50 by 35 Target
The 50 by 35 Target
The reality
Today, 25 million people – almost seven in ten refugees worldwide – have been living in exile for five years or more.
Refugees bring skills, knowledge and resilience, and want to contribute meaningfully to the economies and communities that host them. Yet too often, barriers prevent them from doing so.
More than half – 14.5 million refugees – rely on aid to meet their basic needs.
Many refugees – especially young people – have spent most or all their lives in exile, while host countries continue to shoulder immense responsibility with limited resources. Humanitarian assistance remains essential to save lives, yet the scale and duration of displacement are placing growing pressure on systems that were not designed for long-term support.
This is not sustainable, and it cannot continue.
We need to move beyond aid towards solutions and greater self-reliance, NOW.
Refugees deserve the chance to work, learn and belong, while lasting peace and the conditions for a safe return home are pursued.
"Being a refugee is not meant to be a permanent fate. It is meant to be a temporary condition."
Barham Salih, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The commitment
UNHCR is setting a goal to support more than half of the world’s aid‑reliant refugees in long-term displacement in low- and middle-income countries – nearly 8 million people – to rebuild their lives by 2035.
Nearly 8 million dreams realized.
Nearly 8 million futures no longer on hold.
This is not about replacing humanitarian aid, which continues to save lives. It is about moving beyond it as quickly as possible: supporting people through emergencies while enabling them to unlock their potential and build their own futures.
This effort is grounded in UNHCR’s international protection mandate and guided by core protection principles, including access to asylum. Strengthening self-reliance and pursuing solutions must always reinforce – not replace – protection.
This work will build on the commitments outlined in the Global Compact on Refugees and the progress made at successive Global Refugee Forums.
It reflects a shared global effort, grounded in responsibility-sharing, to expand solutions, strengthen refugee self-reliance, ease pressures on host countries, and support conditions for safe and dignified return.
A shift from managing displacement indefinitely, to solving it. Because being a refugee should be a chapter, not the whole story of an individual’s life.
The way forward
This is not a standalone initiative. It is about placing greater emphasis on solutions from the outset of displacement. To achieve this ambitious target, we will mobilize and work with governments, international development and financial institutions, the private sector, partners and refugees themselves.
Work will be advanced through government-led efforts and roadmaps, supported by coordinated international action and partnerships, with UNHCR helping to mobilize and convene.
Achieving this goal will require stronger collaboration to strengthen peacebuilding and expand opportunities, financing and legal pathways for refugees to rebuild their lives.
Two complementary areas of action are central: advancing durable solutions and strengthening self-reliance to reduce aid dependency, including through:
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Voluntary, safe and dignified returns
For most refugees, going home is their deepest wish. Making it possible requires stronger political and diplomatic engagement for peace, investment in post-conflict recovery and reconstruction, and sustained support for fragile states. Returns must always be voluntary, safe and dignified, in conditions that enable sustainable reintegration. No one should ever be compelled to return to danger.
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Achieving self-reliance and inclusion in national systems
Self-reliance starts with the right to work, move freely, and access the same services as nationals – giving refugees the chance to earn income and rebuild their lives. This requires mobilizing the financing and support that host states need to include refugees in their national systems. When refugees can access the same services, rights and opportunities as the communities hosting them, everyone benefits. This requires policies in host countries that allow refugees to fully participate and contribute, as well as job creation and investment from the private sector, development actors and donor countries.
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Third-country solutions
Resettlement, labour mobility, education visas and family reunification open doors when local solutions are unavailable. These pathways are a key expression of international solidarity and responsibility-sharing, and essential to reaching the 2035 target.
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Local integration and alternative legal status
Where host governments have opened legal pathways for refugees to remain permanently, through naturalization, long-term residence or alternative legal status, this offers one of the most durable exits from protracted displacement.
The success stories
The evidence shows that the best solution to protracted displacement is lasting peace and stability. Yet even in regions where peacebuilding efforts are ongoing, governments, the private sector and other partners are making progress – both in enabling durable solutions and in strengthening refugees’ ability to support themselves.
Syria: Since the fall of the Assad government and the end of fighting across much of country, more than 1.5 million Syrians have returned home. Development funding is now needed to rebuild, sustain returns and support reintegration.
Brazil: The Companies with Refugee Forum brings together more than 150 companies and business organizations, which collectively employ over 14,000 refugees and provide vocational training to thousands more. By expanding access to jobs and skills, the initiative strengthens refugees’ ability to support themselves and contribute to Brazil’s economy.
Colombia: From the outset, Colombia extended legal and administrative inclusion to Venezuelan refugees and migrants, opening access to documentation, services and economic opportunities. This has helped reduce aid dependency and improve living standards, while supporting economic contributions that benefit both refugees and host communities.
Malaysia: UNHCR and IOM are working on a train-to-hire initiative that connects refugees with skills training and employment opportunities abroad. This approach strengthens refugees’ capacity to become self-reliant while opening pathways to longer-term solutions.
The moment is now
2026 marks the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention: a moment to reaffirm not only the commitment to protection, but the commitment to expand solutions and reduce prolonged aid dependency.
Advancing solutions must go hand in hand with upholding the international protection regime at the heart of the Convention.
It sets the stage for the Global Refugee Forum in 2027, where concrete pledges will be needed from governments, donors and the private sector.