How much public pressure is there on policymakers who endeavour to introduce policies promoting international solidarity and collaboration on refugee protection? How should policymakers address inhumane responses to such policies? This is a vital question as policymakers who are introducing increasingly stricter refugee and asylum policies claim they are following the public will. Answering this question now is crucial because we have several ongoing policy initiatives for international solidarity and collaboration on refugee protection: Since 2016, the United Nation’s High Commissioner for Refugees, the European Commission, the African Union, and many states endeavouring to follow suit, have been introducing new policies to bolster international collaboration on refugee protection. Amongst these are the UN’s Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and Global Compact on Migration (GCM), the European Union’s evolving Common European Asylum System (CEAS), the European Commission’s proposal on a New Pact for Migration and Asylum (the New Pact), and the UN Member States’ pledges made in the Global Refugee Forum. Successful implementation of global policy depends on recognition by the international society, that is, international organizations, governments, parties, non-state organizations, and citizens. However, these new policy initiatives have created controversy within the international society.