Thinking ahead: displacement, transition, solutions

100 Pages·2016·2.38 MB·English

Issue 52
May 2016
Thinking ahead:
displacement, transition, solutions
plus articles on:
Nigeria; resettlement safeguards in mining; Syrians resettled in Canada;
asylum in Sweden; AVR programmes; psychosocial age assessment;
information on the Thai-Burma border; Iraqi refugees in Lebanon and the region;
and LGBT forced migration in East Africa.
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Forced Migration Review
Our belief in the need for and the efficacy of humanitarian action is partly
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based on its actual effectiveness over the years in addressing the needs
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experience, information and ideas
and manifold failures of such action. The existence of people in very protracted
between researchers, refugees
displacement, the inadequacy of the solutions proposed for them and the
and internally displaced people,
inevitability that many people now becoming displaced will face the same fate
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Staff
and practices that are being tried out in order to engage development and
Marion Couldrey & humanitarian work in support of ‘transitions’ for displaced people and a variety
Maurice Herson (Editors) of ‘solutions’.
Maureen Schoenfeld (Finance and
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Forced Migration Review issue 52 • www.fmreview.org/solutions
Thinking ahead: displacement, transition, solutions 58 Transitional policies and durable solutions for
displaced Kashmiri Pandits
4 Forced displacement: a development issue with
Sudha G Rajput
humanitarian elements
Niels Harild 61 Gendered limits to the returnee village
programme in Burundi
8 The reality of transitions
Yolanda Weima
Silvio Cordova
10 Forgotten people: former Liberian refugees 63 Naturalisation of Burundian refugees in Tanzania
in Ghana Amelia Kuch
Naohiko Omata 65 Displacement and development solutions in
13 Reflecting on Liberia and Sierra Leone Tanzania
J O Moses Okello Erol Kekic and Harrison Mseke
14 Peace in Colombia and solutions for its 66 Transitional solutions for the displaced in the
displaced people Horn of Africa
Martin Gottwald Nassim Majidi and Saagarika Dadu-Brown
17 A perspective from the World Bank 68 Repatriation and solutions in stabilisation
Joanna de Berry contexts
20 Humanitarian action and the transformation Giulio Morello
of gender relations 70 Pathway to peaceful resolution in Myanmar’s
Melinda Wells and Geeta Kuttiparambil Rakhine State
22 An age-sensitive approach to durable solutions Ronan Lee and Anthony Ware
Ana Mosneaga and Michaella Vanore 72 Refugee-run organisations as partners in
26 New aid architecture and resilience building development
around the Syria crisis Evan Easton-Calabria
Gustavo Gonzalez 74 A new approach to old problems:
29 Development cooperation and addressing the Solutions Alliance
‘root causes’ Alexander Betts
Steffen Angenendt, Anne Koch and Amrei Meier
31 Labour mobility as part of the solution General articles
Sayre Nyce, Mary Louise Cohen and Bruce Cohen
76 What’s going on in Nigeria?
33 Palestinian professionals in Lebanon: Toby Lanzer
an exception
78 The weakness of resettlement safeguards
Mahmoud Al-Ali
in mining
33 Doing business in Ecuador John R Owen and Deanna Kemp
Oscar M Sánchez Piñeiro and Regina Saavedra
82 Causes and consequences of Canada's
36 The contribution of the private sector to solutions resettlement of Syrian refugees
for displacement
Anne-Marie Bélanger McMurdo
Glaucia Boyer and Yannick DuPont
84 Assisted Voluntary Return: implications for
39 Conceptual challenges and practical solutions
women and children
in situations of internal displacement
Monica Encinas
Chaloka Beyani, Natalia Krynsky Baal and Martina
Caterina 86 Psychosocial age assessments in the UK
43 Potential of protection capacity building to Debbie Busler
assist transition 89 Sweden’s U-turn on asylum
Sarah Deardorff Miller and Julian Lehmann Bernd Parusel
45 Energy solutions with both humanitarian and 91 Responding to LGBT forced migration in
development pay-offs East Africa
Owen Grafham, Glada Lahn and Johanna Lehne Gitta Zomorodi
49 Uganda’s approach to refugee self-reliance 94 The legal status of Iraqi refugees in
Kelly T Clements, Timothy Shoffner and Leah Zamore neighbouring countries
51 Limitations of development-oriented assistance Mohammad Abbas Mohsen
in Uganda 95 Imprisonment and deportation of Iraqi refugees
Ulrike Krause in Lebanon
54 Telling it like it is Qusay Tariq Al-Zubaidi
Tammi Sharpe and Elias Schneider 96 Communication of information
55 Somalia-Yemen links: refugees and returnees on the Thai-Burma border
Maimuna Mohamud Victoria Jack
57 A role for market analysis
Diana Essex, Jessica Therkelsen and Anna Wirth 100 We have, I believe, won acceptance for
57 Family allowance extended to refugees in Brazil the argument…
Lilian Yamamoto Sadruddin Aga Khan
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Forced displacement: a development issue with
humanitarian elements
Niels Harild
Work on conflict-induced forced displacement is at a crucial moment, at a tipping point.
Now is the time to consolidate the shift towards full global recognition that the challenge of
forced displacement is an integral part of the development agenda too.
There are currently an estimated 60 million conflicts, they tend to linger on without
refugees and internally displaced persons any resolution in sight. Yet policymakers,
(IDPs) in the world. The related social, planners and other actors see displacement
economic and fiscal challenges are further as a largely humanitarian issue. They ignore
amplified if one also takes affected host and its inevitable longevity, and the typical
return populations into account. In addition, response therefore stays in a short-term
the average length of time that people are mode. However, there is growing recognition
displaced has been growing and is likely to that the present system is not working.
increase even further as there is still no peace Humanitarian agencies are not equipped
in sight for many of the ongoing conflicts. to address the long-term developmental
Only a few of the displaced people are needs of those in protracted displacement,
currently able to avail themselves of any of and yet this has been the default for many
the three ‘durable solutions’. Resettlement years. If the policy framework stays in a short-
in third countries is limited in numbers term humanitarian mode during protracted
and very expensive; voluntary return is displacement, there is every potential for
hampered by lack of stability and peace, and this to breed exclusion, poverty, degradation,
full local integration and naturalisation are possible radicalisation, and new conflict
often blocked by policy restrictions. Most
ddiissppllaacceemd aenret ’.t hAenre ifnocrree laisviinngg pinro ‘ppororttiroanct ed R Arnold
of displaced people live in urban areas, R/
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intermingled with the local communities, NH
U
but often do not benefit from basic services
on a par with the local population and
are also excluded from the formal job
market and from business opportunities.
In large displacement situations the socio-
economic and macro-economic impact on
host communities and countries can be
substantial. In such situations, the needs of
the displaced and affected host populations
are predominantly developmental.
Challenges, obstacles, opportunities
While there clearly is a continuing need for
more humanitarian assistance, there is simply
no way that present-day displacement needs
can be covered by humanitarian financing
and approaches, let alone solved. Given the
lack of success by national and international
stakeholders in addressing the roots of today’s
Third-generation refugee children walking to school in Ban Mai Nai Soi
refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border. June 2014.
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and violence as well as significant economic There is growing analytical and
and fiscal pressure on host countries. operational evidence of the benefits of
The problems in an inherently innovative, development-led approaches to
humanitarian approach are compounded displacement. A few countries are beginning
by policymakers who focus on the negative to include displacement challenges in their
impacts of the arrival of displaced people development plans and are thus setting the
and ignore the positives. They often blame stage for development actors to support
displaced people for other pre-existing national efforts through loans or grants. The
ailments, and they put in place shortsighted World Bank is getting seriously involved
and restrictive policies rather than addressing in addressing forced displacement in
the problem more jointly and holistically. terms of analytical work, policy dialogue,
This reflects a lack of understanding of operations and new financing options, and its
short- and long-term social, economic, fiscal partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee
and security implications of protracted Agency, is expanding. An increasing number
displacement. There is sometimes a deliberate of bilateral donors are beginning to think
wish not to want to understand these more in this way about the issue as well.
implications out of fear that this would run The issue is attracting attention in 2016
counter to short-term political views or trends, through a number of high-level events; this
leading to loss of electoral votes. Thereby increased engagement at the policy level is
displaced people fall victim to local politics. welcome but also essential if we are to achieve
This negative spiral needs to be reversed. the fundamental change that is needed. It is
In practical terms this would require an opportunity that should not be missed. The
recognition of displaced people’s right to challenge will be to find a holistic approach
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War governments What is to be done?
Puttnam L A (Lt), adpunaenvdrdte entlrhoeseprtsiamr nt oedn t Twcporhoneeudfl filoidcrm stb-tiie nns tfadeonuprt c lateyold lwa a fdacotrerodcvresesd l fot uodpn imasdcpaeclnmeaptc eeitns mtsthauealen tc twh isait nhg e
that forced humanitarian elements – and not the other
displacement way around. This change in mindset requires
is a core an understanding that, while protracted
development forced displacement often requires short-term
issue and humanitarian action, it is fundamentally
that, as such, about responding to the social, economic
it belongs and fiscal implications for the displaced
in national people and for hosting countries to the
development benefit of all affected. Often this may require
plans, even area-based, targeted investments to boost
if substantial economic activity, particularly in host
ongoing areas with high unemployment. Real and
humanitarian substantial improvements for those living
needs mean that in protracted displacement and the affected
humanitarian host populations can only come about by
actors must addressing housing, livelihoods and jobs,
stay engaged. access to services, inclusion and governance in
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ways that benefit both the displaced and their and to pay taxes, it can reduce the need for
host communities, ensuring that displaced humanitarian assistance and lessen macro-
people end up being self-reliant rather than economic and service-delivery stress. In this
needing continued humanitarian aid. way the displaced will also be better prepared
It is important for governments of affected for return as they are able to build and retain
countries to understand that most, if not skills and accumulate savings essential for
all, new forced displacement situations may eventual successful return and reintegration.
become protracted, and that they need to For a comprehensive approach to work
muster sufficient political courage to make effectively, governments need to exercise
the necessary long-term policy decisions early strong leadership and provide the required
in the crisis. This is not easy. International legal and policy frameworks that set the
development actors and donors should parameters for development interventions
work closely with these governments to and the timing and space for humanitarian
help them weigh up the different policy interventions. Hence host countries should
options; they can do this by providing play a leading role in policy dialogue from
country-specific context assessments (that the beginning in order to develop long-term
include joint stakeholder analysis of the comprehensive planning for all sectors,
policy environment and the institutional taking into account country-specific needs
frameworks and capacity), demographic and political challenges. All government
profiling and an analysis of the prospects actors should be clear about the short-
for durable solutions. Hence it is important and long-term economic, social and fiscal
to map the direct and indirect economic, implications. A key host country concern
environmental, social, macro-economic would often be a reluctance to entertain the
and political impact of the displacement full durable solution of local integration.
situation on both the displaced and the host An approach of longer-term temporary
communities. This evidence can then be used integration until a lasting solution is found
as an entry point for policy discussions with would be more applicable to most situations.
the host government and local authorities. Development actors should also
These analyses should of course include continue to deepen their collaboration with
meaningful beneficiary consultation. humanitarian actors. First and foremost, this
Governments need to have such should involve developing a situation-specific,
assessments and policy options available to multi-year common programme framework
make the needed policy choices. Multilateral with well-defined lead roles and overall
and bilateral development actors should work objectives and based on joint assessment and
with governments to shift from short- to long- analysis. For this to work, all international
term policies to forced displacement from and local actors need to work together.
the beginning. They should also continue Donors need more comprehensive, synergetic
to strengthen the design of multilateral and approaches to funding, UN development
bilateral sectoral programmes and operations agencies need to establish their roles through
so they include a response to the specific a more inclusive and open approach towards
needs of the displaced and affected host larger common programme frameworks,
and return communities within the wider and the international financial institutions
programme. This will include embracing a need to engage in broad partnerships
new policy concept of ‘temporary longer- that also include bilateral donors.
term economic integration’, with return or By adopting such approaches, it should
other lasting solutions being the long-term be possible for development actors to engage
goal. This is a difficult and slow process from the beginning of crises and to focus
but it must be done and there is growing on the long-term development needs of
evidence that it can work. If displaced people the displaced and their host countries or
are allowed to be more self-reliant, thereby return communities. In this collaborative
enabling them to contribute to the economy approach, it is important that they draw
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othne t theemirp ctoamtiopna rtaot giveet addirveacntltya ginesv oalnvde dr eisni st mmel
humanitarian work. Humanitarian actors on Hu
R
the other hand need a clear exit strategy built R/
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in early, taking into account host country NH
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capacity and also the continued need for
protection of and support to marginalised
groups that are not benefitting from wider
programmes.
A key part of this is the importance of a
joint context assessment which can provide
a joint platform for all actors to work from.
The World Bank-led joint assessments of
displacement in the Great Lakes and the
Horn of Africa are good examples of how
this can be done differently from in the
past.1 Once the needed policies are in place
and operations are designed, all relevant
financing sources – including new lending
tools and grants – must be activated along
with inputs from the private sector and the
security sector, in order to project a real sense
of responsibility sharing supporting a single
policy framework. International development
partners can assist affected countries in
formulating such policy frameworks.
All this serves to show that
development actors have a key role to
play in mainstreaming the issue of forced
The 67 families of IDPs living in this collective centre in Georgia fled
displacement, and they must make the best Tskhinvali in 1991. (photo taken 2008)
of current opportunities and platforms
to ensure that they meet this challenge. all we should not forget that this is about
These opportunities include consensus respect for other human beings; our objective
around the need to operationalise the is to help them secure a dignified, meaningful
Sustainable Development Goals, the World and safe life while in displacement and to
Humanitarian Summit and global and support them in finding a lasting solution.
country-specific efforts, among which the
Niels Harild [email protected]
Solutions Alliance stands out as particularly
Formerly Manager of the Global Program on
promising. In short, it is time for development
Forced Displacement, The World Bank Group
actors to work comprehensively on their
www.worldbank.org; now independent policy
tools and instruments, to scale up their
expert on forced displacement and development
efforts on forced displacement impacts
in fragile and conflict-affected countries This article draws on work on the displacement
and to advocate with governments. challenge with UNHCR, NGOs and the World
Dialogue on all of these issues is most Bank Group. It reflects the views of the author
effective if it addresses the concerns of host and not necessarily the views of UNHCR, the
countries, if it includes a focus on improving World Bank or any of the other organisations.
conditions of host communities and thereby 1. World Bank/UNHCR (2015) Forced Displacement in the Great
of the displaced as well, and if it proves that Lakes Region: A Development Response
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/21708; World Bank/UNHCR (2015)
allowing refugees to use the capacity they Forced Displacement and Mixed Migration in the Horn of Africa
have is beneficial to the host country. Above http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22286
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The reality of transitions
Silvio Cordova
Attempts to address the drivers of forced displacement and to provide sustainable solutions
for refugees, IDPs and returnees need a more nuanced understanding of the drivers of
violence and of war-to-peace transitions.
There is a well-known litany of reasons development assistance is unhelpful and
for obstacles to the engagement of counter-productive, it is of paramount
development stakeholders in forced importance to look into the drivers of
displacement and protracted situations. violence and displacement in the first
While factors such as differing mandates, place. This will also allow us to understand
institutional arrangements, funding why violence often continues into so
instruments and programming cycles called ‘post-conflict’ settings and hence
between the humanitarian and development will provide us with a more nuanced
communities have played a role in creating interpretation of war-to-peace transitions.
and perpetuating the ‘humanitarian-
development divide’, little attention has been Continuities and cycles
drawn to the weak conceptual foundations In many conflicts, the aim of armed groups
of ‘bridges’ or ‘links’ between humanitarian and other actors is the prolongation of
and development assistance and their violence in order to achieve economic (and
lack of empirical evidence. Barriers to political) gains, rather than outright victory.
engaging development and political actors in Economic agendas, though, are not enough
preventing and responding to displacement, to explain why violence may continue
and to the design and implementation of into ‘peacetime’. Greater attention should
joint humanitarian-development strategies, be given to communities’ socio-economic
have primarily been conceptual. grievances that are often overlooked and
Despite growing recognition that that play a critical role in triggering and
transitions from emergency response to fuelling violence. The end of a conflict does
development assistance should not be not necessarily entail a clean break from past
linear, the idea and practice of humanitarian patterns of violence: high levels of violence
actors ‘handing over’ to development are a recurrent feature of most countries
actors persist. This is primarily due to a emerging from conflict. Indeed, legacies of
lack of understanding of drivers of violence war together with new forms of violence
and of how transitions from war to peace explain why transitions are characterised
unfold. Indeed, analysts and practitioners by repeated setbacks and reversals.
have rarely questioned the phenomenon at Given the reality of the prolongation
the core of concepts such as ‘linking relief of violence into ‘peacetime’ and repeated
to development’: namely the transition cycles of violence and displacement,
from war to peace. The idea of ‘links’ and the debate on the relationship between
‘bridges’ is based on flawed assumptions humanitarian and development assistance
about such transitions, assumptions that should therefore move from a focus on
are not grounded in the complex reality ‘gaps’, ‘bridges’ and ‘links’ between the two
of countries emerging from conflicts and communities towards a better understanding
crisis. As a result, interventions based of transitions from war to peace.
on such an approach cannot provide a As transitions are not a one-way process
response to and address the unpredictability neither should transitions from humanitarian
and multiple variables of transitions. assistance to development be. It would be
In order to understand why a unrealistic to assume that the international
linear sequencing of humanitarian and community can address such a fluid,
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complex and unpredictable phenomenon multi-sectoral and multi-year interventions
as transition by providing humanitarian that envisage the simultaneous engagement
and development assistance in sequential of development, humanitarian and
ways, and to plan the timing of when political stakeholders from the onset of and
humanitarian assistance should ‘hand over’ throughout a conflict and a displacement
to development cooperation. As transitions crisis. This will be likely to contribute to
are particularly susceptible to repeated enhancing the human development of
cycles of violence and displacement, even displaced populations, their contribution
in situations of relative peace and stability, to the economy of hosting countries and
it is no surprise that the implementation of communities and, as a result, the quality of
early recovery initiatives, the ‘handing-over’ their protection during displacement.
model and other variations of ‘linking relief Reframing the debate on the
to development’ have proven problematic. ‘humanitarian-development divide’ around
There may be a need for humanitarian aid, the issue of transitions can result in more
for instance, in ‘post-conflict’ environments informed and evidence-based policy
during relapses into violence and new cycles and programming and more sustainable
of displacement, as the conflicts in Colombia solutions for displaced populations. It has
and DRC have shown, or there may be room also the potential to open up space for a
for development in emergency settings greater involvement of development and
and on-going violence as in South Sudan. political stakeholders in mitigating drivers
and impacts of displacement on host
Changing the discourse communities and countries. In addition,
It is important to point out that most their engagement from the onset of a
drivers of violence – and resulting cycles displacement crisis would be instrumental
of displacement and protracted situations in conducting advocacy and political
– are structural developmental, economic dialogue with countries of origin and
and political factors. In addition, most asylum for addressing the development
issues limiting sustainable solutions for needs of refugees, IDPs and returnees.
refugees, IDPs and returnees – such as land It may be that the narrow way in
rights, establishment of livelihoods and which the humanitarian community has
employment opportunities, rule of law, and contributed to depicting displacement
freedom of movement – are developmental and protracted situations for decades has
and political in nature rather than been in part the cause of lack of interest
humanitarian. As a consequence, a linear by development actors, who have not
implementation of humanitarian assistance seen these issues as being their concern.
followed by development would not only It is now crucial to address the tendency
postpone – rather than address – these – within donor and government circles
underlying issues but also might contribute as well as international organisations – to
to the prolongation of crises and conflicts. underestimate the implications of labels
Therefore, keeping in mind the drivers and rigid categories for policymaking
of violence and the multi-faceted nature and for developing innovative and more
of transitions, forced displacement and, sustainable approaches to preventing
in particular, protracted refugee and IDP and addressing forced displacement
situations should be reframed within and protracted situations.
broader development, peace-building,
Silvio Cordova [email protected]
economic and political discourses. Indeed,
Programme Manager, European Union Delegation
preventing and addressing these issues
to South Sudan
need societal and economic transformation
that go beyond the scope and mandate of The views expressed in this article are those of
humanitarian organisations. The strategies the author and do not necessarily reflect those
that follow on from this should be broader, of the European Union.
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Forgotten people: former Liberian refugees in Ghana
Naohiko Omata
More than three years after the cessation of refugee status for Liberian refugees, the viability
of the ECOWAS integration scheme implemented as a solution for those Liberians who
continued to stay in Ghana is seen to be limited.
Although exile can be interminably Local integration was also unpopular with
protracted, refugee status is not granted refugees, mainly because of the lack of socio-
permanently. According to the 1951 Refugee economic prospects for them in Ghana.
Convention, when the circumstances under Not only did these refugees remain
which people were recognised as refugees without a durable solution but their living
no longer exist (the premise of ‘ceased conditions had also become increasingly
circumstances’), the Cessation Clause may challenging. After the 2003 ceasefire, the
be invoked while they are still in a country amount of humanitarian aid was continuously
of asylum. Through this process thousands reduced and almost entirely terminated
of Liberian refugees in Ghana saw the end by 2010. In addition, refugees continued to
of their refugee status in 2012, after which face a number of barriers to engaging in
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, brought in economic activities outside the camp, such
an integration scheme through the freedom as local xenophobia and their own lack of
of movement protocol of the Economic knowledge of local languages. Thus, with the
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) exception of a few recipients of remittances,
as a ‘sub-regional solution’ for Liberians who many Liberians were reduced to bare
remained in exile. subsistence inside and around the camp.
Prolonged displacement for Liberian ECOWAS-based integration as a ‘solution’
refugees In January 2012, UNHCR announced the
After the beginning of the Liberian civil cessation of refugee status for Liberian
war in 1989, the Ghanaian government refugees worldwide as from the end of
established the Buduburam refugee camp in June 2012. As nearly a decade had passed
1990 in response to the arrival of displaced since the 2003 ceasefire agreement, the
Liberians in the country. After the final international community deemed that the
ceasefire agreement of the war in 2003, situation in Liberia had greatly improved
UNHCR repeatedly urged the repatriation of and that the causes of the displacement no
refugees to Liberia. The pace of repatriation, longer existed. At the beginning of 2012,
however, was sluggish among the remaining the Liberian refugees living in Ghana were
Liberians in Ghana due to the precarious left with two options: either to repatriate by
political and economic environment in the end of June 2012 before the invocation
Liberia. Many Liberian refugees in Ghana had of the Cessation Clause or to remain in
been hoping for third-country resettlement Ghana through an agreement that existed
but, with peace restored in Liberia, most no among the member countries of ECOWAS.
longer met the criteria for resettlement. ECOWAS is not a refugee-protecting
The other remaining ‘traditional’ durable body but a regional confederation of fifteen
solution – local integration – failed to gain West African states – including both Ghana
support from either the host government and Liberia – which was founded in 1975
or the Liberian refugees themselves. to promote trade and economic integration
The Ghanaian administration viewed across the region. The sub-regional
local integration as an imposition on the integration scheme was based on the 1979
country and did not offer integration as Protocol on Free Movement adopted by
an option to refugees who remained. ECOWAS which confers on community