UNGA 2026 | Breakfast and Technical Panels

As governments increasingly turn to third-country agreements, offshore processing, return hubs, and other forms of externalization, urgent questions remain: are these policies lawful, effective, and worth their significant public cost? Meanwhile, public narratives about refugees and migrants are increasingly shaped by fear, misinformation, and political instrumentalization rather than evidence. 

R-Space and co-hosts convened two technical panels during UNGA week to examine these issues in depth: 

• Panel 1: Managing Asylum and Migration: International Cooperation, Public Costs and Policy Choices. This panel assessed the safeguards required under international law, compare externalization with domestic processing and community-based alternatives, and identify practical approaches that balance refugee protection, responsible border governance, state capacity, and public confidence.

• Panel 2: Losing the Narrative? How Media, Politics, and Public Fear Shape Perceptions of Refugees and Migrants. This conversation took a critical look at how media and politics influence public perception and how the discourse can be shifted toward a more grounded, evidence-based conversation.