Applying the HDP nexus approach to better respond to forced displacement

September 2025

By mid-2024, 122.6 million people remained forcibly displaced because of conflict, violence, persecution, and human rights violations.

Since 2018, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have worked together to implement the Global Programme Support to UNHCR in Facilitating the Operationalization of the Global Compact on Refugees in the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (SUN Global Programme or SUN-GP).

SUN-GP is a collaborative GIZ-UNHCR initiative, leveraging each agency’s complementary strengths to implement HDP nexus approaches and operationalise the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR). Additionally, SUN-GP served as a platform for capacity building, knowledge sharing, and lesson learning. It enabled partners to refine HDP nexus approaches and promoted sustainable solutions for displaced populations and host communities.

This joint study was conducted between February 2022 and March 2025 by IOD PARC in partnership with the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi). It focuses on UNHCR-GIZ cooperation within SUN-GP to answer: ‘How can Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) nexus approaches be used to better respond to forced displacement and put into practice the objectives of the GCR?’ It documents lessons learnt, achievements, and areas requiring improvement in future collaborations. The study is primarily aimed at supporting learning for UNHCR and GIZ, but also by other humanitarian and development actors seeking to engage in HDP partnerships.

Visit reliefweb for more information, including a link to the abridged version of the report.

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