Professor Paul Spiegel, chair of the Commission, discusses the new initiative with the Boston University Center on Forced Displacement (CFD). The conversation covers the reasons for establishing the Commission, potential outcomes, and its specific objectives. It also touches upon how this Commission differs from previous efforts:

Autumn Bachofen: What makes this commission different from previous efforts to bring together scholars, practitioners, and humanitarians?

Paul Spiegel: There have been various attempts, including the 2016 Humanitarian Summit and the Grand Bargain, amongst other reforms.  Such events generally require a great deal of compromise as governments, UN agencies, INGOs and donors often have competing interests. We have chosen Commissioners who are not restricted as to what they can say by the organizations for whom they work. We can do research, thing big, and be open and transparent in ways that other efforts have often not been able to do.

The full conversation was published for an online audience on the website of the CFD at Boston University. CFD Director Muhammad Zaman is one of the commissioners.