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Funding for refugee rights began to stagnate in the years leading up to the current migrant crisis, according to a report released today.

For the last few years of available data, weve seen that funding focused on the rights of migrants and refugees has remained flat, Sarah Tansey, program manager atthe International Human Rights Funders Group, told Humanosphere. So with the benefit of hindsight, we can see now that this data comes at a time the crisis was really growing, but the funding didnt seem to grow proportionally to the crisis.

Because much of the grants information is collected from IRS forms or relies on direct reporting, there can be a several-year lag from the time a grant is made, Anna Koob, author of the report and knowledge service manager at Foundation Center, told Humanosphere. The funders included in the research also have different fiscal years, reporting formats and languages, which the authors said adds to the time it takes to standardize the data.

Now, Foundation Centersays philanthropists are more aware of thethreats torefugee rights and have responded accordingly.

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Refugees havethe right to safeasylum, the right to fair hearings of their refugee claims, and to be treated with dignity and with respect to their basic human rights like any other citizen. Advocates have fiercely condemned the most recent violations of these rights,including U.S. President Donald Trumps travel banfrom seven predominantly Muslim countries, widespreadforced returns of refugees to the regions they fled, and police harassment and abuse of refugees and migrants in France.

Rights activists have also pushed for more funding throughout the current migrantcrises. But according toIain Levine, deputy executive director at Human Rights Watch, more grant-makingmay not have been able to prevent rightsabuses seen on such a large scale in thecurrent crises.

Could we all use more funding? Absolutely. Would more funding earlier on have changed the situation? Its really hard to say, Levine told Humanosphere. I would not want to blame funders for the current situation, but I would say theres an enormous need now for donors to combat the rising wave of xenophobia and nationalism that were seeing in many parts of the world, particularly the U.S. and Europe.

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This rise in nationalist sentiment emerging in Europe, the U.S. and other regions of the world is what makes it more important than ever for funders touse the data thats available for all aspects of human rights, the reports authors say. They also stress the importance thatfunders locategaps in the field and determine where their donationscan be most useful.

Number of fundersfromthe 237 member foundations affiliated with IHRFG, Ariadne, or Prospera. (Foundation Center, 2017)

In terms offoreign aid for human rights,Sweden provided 16 percent the most of any other country, according to the report. EU institutions, Norway and the United States had the next-largest shares, each contributing 10 percent.

In terms of foundationaid for human rights, the United States has consistently had the mostdonors. But the report indicatesthis may be changing.

The number of funders outside the U.S. keeps growing, said Tansey, who said there were112 of such funders in 2014, compared to just 49 in 2010. This provides amore inclusiveglobal perspective on what funders are doing to advance human rights, she added.

Later this year, IHRFG and Foundation Center are releasing a five-year trend analysistoexamine shifts in human rights fundingfrom 2011 through 2015.

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Funding for refugee rights stagnated before migrant crisis, analysis shows - Humanosphere