In recent years, ‘assisted voluntary return’ (AVR) or ‘assisted voluntary return and reintegration’ (AVRR) schemes have spread across Europe and the Western industrialised world – from five in 1995 to 35 in 2011. These schemes, the majority of which are…
Muhibullah arrived in the UK as a 15-year-old unaccompanied asylum-seeking child, sent to the UK at just 13 by his family, who hoped he would be able to make a better future away from the conflict and poverty of Afghanistan.[1]…
On 17 June 2012, a plane carrying over 120 South Sudan nationals left Tel Aviv for Juba, the capital city of the new state of South Sudan. This was the first flight in what the Israeli government called ‘Operation Returning…
A 2011 study by the European Commission shows that while the majority of EU member states who participated in the study monitor the pre-departure phases of a deportation, only 13% follow what happens post deportation.[1] Post-deportation monitoring can protect individuals…
As the crisis in Syria continues, humanitarian needs inside and outside the country are escalating rapidly. Since the crisis began in March 2011, the ability of international organisations to provide aid inside Syria has been severely restricted. Most international agencies…
As the whole edifice of aid machinery descended on the world’s latest emergency, it soon became apparent that it was ill-equipped to adequately address the needs of a displaced population from a middle-income country. Although a majority of the…
In times of conflict everyone is affected by violence; however, women and girls in particular are more at risk of facing different forms of violence including sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) due to the lack of social protection and lack…
Nakivale Refugee Settlement on Uganda’s border with Rwanda is one of Africa’s oldest refugee camps. Rwandans first fled there following the ‘Hutu Revolution’ of 1957 and it now contains roughly 60,000 Rwandans, Congolese and Somalis along with many other nationalities…
We miss an important opportunity if we ignore smaller, less geo-politically prominent situations such as that which has been unfolding in eastern Cameroon since 2005. Despite the lack of media attention it has received, this situation offers significant insights into…
Following the revolution in Iran in 1979 that brought about the Islamic Republic, the new government had an open-arms policy towards Afghan refugees from its early days, a policy rooted in the religious values and principles of Islam.[i] As a…