ABSTRACT

On September 19, 2016, the United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants took place. Aiming to address large movements of people, for both refugees and migrants in a broad sense, it resulted in the New York Declaration and on commitment to adopt global compacts on refugees and migrants by 2018. It was the first initiative of this type and, in a world of increased migration and closure of borders, it is relevant to assess its outcomes to establish what has already been secured and what needs to be addressed before the 2018 deadline. Through a combination of international law, refugee law and human rights lenses, this chapter aims to analyze the normative and rhetorical developments of the summit and its documents and to present the current and prospective international landscape of migrants’ and refugees’ rights and protection.