In 2023, Terre des Hommes International Federation (TDHIF), as co-chair of the Initiatives for Child Rights in the Global Compacts, played a pivotal role in advocating for child rights at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in Geneva. Our focus was twofold: to influence government pledges and to ensure meaningful child participation throughout the GRF process.

The Initiative organised strategic workshops and developed tools to push for the Refugee Compact to be implemented for children.

Additionally, it led on the development and coordination of a multi-stakeholder pledge on child rights, with commitments made from over a hundred stakeholders, including governments like Colombia, Greece, and Norway. Child sensitive pledging guidelines were also created and promoted.

The Initiative successfully advocated for children to be part of the GRF 2023 and supported children’s participation in-person and through consultations. It was the first time that refugee children participated in the GRF. 434 refugee children from 11 countries were consulted by the Initiative and we collated and shared their recommendations in “Our Call For Answers: Children’s manifesto to the GRF 2023”.

We organised a successful High Level Parallel Event on Child Rights at the GRF, fostering dialogue between children and decision-makers.