International Solidarity and the Global Compact on Refugees: What Role for the African Union and the European Union?

On the 70th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention, this article examines the concept of solidarity and explains its relevance today, through the lens of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR). While stressing the potential as well as the challenges for thorough implementation of the solidarity mechanisms established by the GCR, the article argues that regional organizations may contribute to meeting the GCR objectives. This is particularly urgent for regions that are most affected by migratory flows. In proposing new ways of approaching the concept of solidarity, the article suggests that the African Union strengthen mechanisms other than the physical sharing of refugees, including pooling resources to support states experiencing large influxes of refugees. In addition to a system of financial support for refugee protection, the article also recommends that the European Union ensures safe channels for arrivals and a more robust resettlement programme, to help realize the GCR objectives.

Da comunidade eclesial ao Pacto Educativo Global: coordenadas pastorais no combate ao analfabetismo funcional

À luz da Exortação Apostólica Evangelii Gaudium (n. 24); da Encíclica Fratelli Tutti (nº. 35; 77; 97; 109; 114; 167; 180; 187; 204) em que é ressaltada, a partir da crise sanitária devida à Pandemia do COVID-19, a redução gradativa de investimentos na área da saúde e da educação; do Pacto Educativo Global (Global Compact on Education), convocado pelo Papa Francisco – este trabalho visa a apresentar, o histórico, os fundamentos teológico-pastorais e a metodologia do Projeto de Alfabetização e Letramento Sementes do Saber. Tal projeto, fomentando uma rede de solidariedade entre comunidade eclesial, escola, família e universidade, própria às exigências da pastoral urbana, visa a pensar uma saída para a condição de analfabeto funcional à qual estão fadados crianças e adolescentes, cujos pais, em situação de vulnerabilidade social, são eles próprios carentes de uma educação formal e cidadã.

Doing well by doing good with the performance of United Nations Global Compact Climate Change Champions

Are Climate Change Champions favorable to investors? This is the first study of portfolio performance of a fourth generation SRI screening strategy based on United Nations Global Compact firms who are Climate Change Champions. The operational changes made by UNGC firms are real and disproves the notion that UNGC firms are merely green-washing. We find that after firms join UNGC, there is a positive effect on long term portfolio performance. UNGC firms have lower volatility and so less risk than their competitors. We find an apparent mispricing of lower risk in market returns as standard asset pricing models may not be pricing investors’ aversion to climate change risk and preference for firms actively combating climate change. This lends support to Fama and Frenchs’ theory that says that these “tastes” are valid factors to provide a more complete asset pricing model. Our study encourages investment in UNGC-CCC firms as we find there is no underperformance penalty against a conventional portfolio because the lower return reflects lower risk. Thus, our evidence suggests that “doing good for society is also good for business.”

More Local is Possible: Recommendations for enhancing local humanitarian leadership and refugee participation in the Gambella refugee response

The Gambella region of western Ethiopia hosts over 300,000 South Sudanese refugees in seven camps. The refugee response is dominated by UN agencies and international NGOs and staffed mostly by Ethiopians from outside of Gambella, creating a gap between humanitarian actors and the people they seek to assist. In order to realize commitments to localization and refugee participation made in the Charter for Change, the Grand Bargain and the Global Compact for Refugees, it is critical for refugees and local populations to be more involved in shaping and leading the delivery of aid. This could be achieved through increasing the role played by Gambella-based NGOs, engaging with faith-based actors, facilitating diaspora initiatives and supporting the development of refugee-led organizations.

Transcultural Film in Québec: North African Diasporas in Bachir Bensaddek’s Montréal la Blanche and Raed Hammoud’s Documentaries on Daech

This article examines the films of Bachir Bensaddek (Montréal la Blanche, 2016) and Raed Hammoud (T’es où Youssef, 2017 and Les Poussières de Daech, 2020) against the backdrop of an ever-increasing global trend of migration, as is evident in the Bouchard/Taylor report on “Building the Future: A Time for Reconciliation” (2008) and the 2018 Global Compact on Migration (IOM). By problematizing the homogeneity of both “home” and “host” cultures in their cinematic work on “néo-Québécois,” Bensaddek and Hammoud contribute meaningfully to how immigration and integration are inflected through the work of imagination within the Québécois context. The relevance of their transcultural films is evident in their focus on the experiences of the large, more recent group of immigrants to the francophone province from the Maghreb (North Africa). The films multiply strategies for understanding the different challenges facing new Québécois as well as providing insights into what might shore up an intercultural society.