In December 2015, the eighth annual High Commissioner’s Dialogue on Protection Challenges focused on the theme ‘Understanding and addressing root causes of displacement’.[1] Those gathered acknowledged the need for the international community to prioritise prevention and to address root causes.…
South Sudan has been in the grip of civil war since 2013 and has witnessed instability, violence and human rights violations across the country. Many South Sudanese have fled, and there are now approximately 1.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs)…
The triggers for displacement often reflect a rupture in the relationship between the State and its citizens, signifying the State’s inability to fulfil its obligations to protect its citizens from violent conflict. Mending this relationship is crucial, and political reintegration…
The conflict in Darfur, which erupted in 2003, resulted in widespread human rights violations and the displacement of a large number of people throughout the region. The conflict has destroyed infrastructure, damaged social cohesion and community stability, and seriously curtailed…
The eastern tip of Beirut, commonly known as Quarantina, is a lower-income neighbourhood bordered by the Beirut River to the east and encircled by the port to the west and north. During the late 19th century a nomadic Sunni tribe…
There can be few more difficult and complex decisions for refugees than if and when to return home after a long period in exile. When such a decision is taken, however, refugees should be supported to ensure that they are…
Displaced people may return home after long periods of absence despite the presence of hostile local authorities and opposition from new occupants or settlers in their old homes. What underlies these difficult decisions? Studying cases of successful voluntary return might…
The requirement for voluntary repatriation to be conducted ‘with dignity’ has appeared consistently in humanitarian policies and guidelines since the late 1980s. The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement launched in 1998, for example, state that internally displaced persons (IDPs) should…
Ethnic minority groups, including the Chin, Shan and Karen, have been fleeing Myanmar since at least as early as 1988 because of severe oppression and persecution. Those fleeing had been subjected by the Burmese national military to forced labour, arbitrary…
In 1991, with the outbreak of civil war in Somalia, refugee camps were established around the small border town of Dadaab in north-eastern Kenya. Since then, Dadaab has become the location of one of the world’s largest and longest-standing protracted…