Voluntary return in safety and with dignity as a durable solution to displacement has long been a core tenet of the international refugee regime. In the 23 articles on Return in this issue of FMR, authors explore various obstacles to achieving sustainable return, some of which are common to diverse situations of displacement while others are specific to certain contexts. Many of the authors discuss the need to guard against premature or forced return, and the risks that such return may entail. They also debate the assumptions and perceptions that influence policy and practice. The examples of good practice and the reflections on research findings presented in this issue are drawn from around the world.
The issue also contains a mini-feature on Towards understanding and addressing the root causes of displacement which has been prepared to inform discussions at the first Global Refugee Forum in December 2019. This collection of articles written by authors from the UN, NGOs and academia aims to enhance collective understanding of some of the root causes of displacement.
We would like to thank Jeff Crisp (Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford) and Sarah Wansa (Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Beirut) for their assistance as advisors to the feature theme, and Perveen Ali, Annabel Mwangi and Emilie Wiinblad Mathez (UNHCR) for their assistance with the mini-feature. We would also like to thank Act Church of Sweden, Refugees International, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung and UNHCR for their generous funding support for this particular issue.
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FMR 62 formats online at www.fmreview.org/return
- Full magazine including mini-feature
- Editors’ briefing (headline analysis of the content)
- Digest (expanded contents list with QR codes/web links)
- Root causes mini-feature (separate booklet)
All individual articles are available in PDF, HTML and podcast formats. This issue will be available in English, Arabic and Spanish. (Unfortunately we have not been able to secure sufficient funding to publish it in French as well.) For printed copies, please email us at fmr@qeh.ox.ac.uk.
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Forthcoming feature themes in 2020 (see www.fmreview.org/forthcoming):
- Cities and towns (February)
- Trafficking and smuggling / Climate crisis and local communities (double feature, June)
- Recognising refugees / mini-feature on Missing migrants (October)
With best wishes
Marion Couldrey and Jenny Peebles
Editors, Forced Migration Review