Primacy is normally given to voluntary repatriation as the preferred durable solution for refugees. This is for reasons that are dictated partly by the socio-political context generally surrounding refugee crises, and partly by the explicit obligation of states under international…
In 2012 communal violence erupted between Rakhine State’s Muslim and Buddhist populations. The Muslims – known as ‘Rohingya’ – bore the worst of the conflict and continue to bear the brunt of the consequences. The ensuing ‘solution’ has involved actively…
In Kampala, Uganda, refugee-run organisations host activities which aim to foster refugee self-reliance and – with their focus on language and skills training – to actively contribute to local integration and development efforts. These organisations arose out of grassroots efforts…
The question of how to engage the development sector – actors, ideas and resources – in responses to refugee and IDP situations is not new. There is already a history of initiatives aiming to overcome the humanitarian-development divide in order…
When one thinks of Nigeria lots of things come to mind: energy, money and, increasingly, Boko Haram. The group has existed in the country’s north-east for years but gained international prominence on the night of 14-15th April 2014 when over…
Studies of displacement and resettlement associated with mining operations continue to demonstrate consistently high levels of impoverishment among displaced people,[1] and that knowledge-building and management practices within the mining industry to uphold international standards are weak.[2] The implications of this…
Canada’s pledge in late 2015 to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees for resettlement came at a time when certain other countries were considering measures such as confiscating assets of refugees, registering Muslim refugees entering their country or closing borders to refugees…
Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) programmes are schemes to assist asylum seekers to return to their countries of origin. The programmes normally help refugees by arranging their travel and providing them with some financial support for establishing a new life on…
Age assessment is a process for determining the age of unaccompanied young people without documents (or who have not shared their documents) in countries where they are seeking refuge. As the European refugee ‘crisis’ continues, more unaccompanied children are travelling…
Sweden has long been one of the main destination countries within the European Union (EU) for people seeking protection, and almost 163,000 people – mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq – applied for asylum in Sweden in 2015. The country’s…