The Global Compacts: What will they mean?

A special issue of the International Journal of Refugee Law has been created to mark the adoption of two new instruments on people movement – the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The compacts signal new moral and political undertakings by the world’s governments, commitments that could not be taken for granted in the current global political environment. 

This special edition features shorter, commentary-style pieces rather than the journal's usual longer, peer-reviewed academic articles. 

Editor-in-chief and Kaldor Centre Director Jane McAdam has sought to incorporate a wide range of views from different regions and disciplines, including institutional perspectives from UNHCR and IOM. The aim is to capture experts’ impressions of, concerns about, and aspirations for the Global Compacts at the moment when they are adopted, signalling a point of inflection – or at least reflection – for the international protection regime.

Access for this edition is free and open to all, so please explore all the articles.