A call to action: mobilising local resources in Ethiopia for urban IDPs
In 2018, about 1,340 registered households as well as many unregistered internally displaced persons (IDPs) fled ethnic conflict in the Somali region of Ethiopia to seek safety in Adama, the capital of the Oromia region, approximately 100km southeast of Addis…
Places of refuge and risk: lessons from San Pedro Sula
The actions of gangs and organised crime linked to international drug trafficking, in addition to the harsh response of State security forces, have driven the surge in violence in Honduras and San Pedro Sula’s identification a few years ago as…
Contested public authority in marginal urban areas: challenges for humanitarians
When Syrians fleeing civil war began to seek refuge in Jordan and Lebanon in 2011, initial relief efforts by the international humanitarian community focused on supporting national governments. However, in recognition of the vital role that municipalities play in providing…
Pakistan’s urban refugees: steps towards self-reliance
Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hosts more than 50% of the country’s 2.7 million Afghan refugees, 32% of whom currently reside inside refugee camps. The remaining 68% live outside the camps, mostly in and around major urban centres, primarily…
Improving information and communication to boost inclusion and self-reliance for urban refugees
Access to basic services and to livelihoods, and the inclusion of refugees in the social and economic fabric of receiving countries, are key to enabling refugees to be productive, resilient members of society. In large refugee-hosting cities like Nairobi there…
Invisibility and virality in urban shelter response
It is clear to many, though not all, within the shelter sector that a one-size-fits-all solution to shelter needs is unlikely to be the most appropriate option for most households. In a recent review of 144 shelter case-studies, one of…
The spirit of Cartagena? Applying the extended refugee definition to Venezuelans in Latin America
Venezuela’s political, economic and humanitarian crisis has led to one of the largest contemporary situations of displacement. Latin America and the Caribbean hosts around 3.7 million of the more than 4.5 million people who have left the country since 2015,…
Effective civil society engagement with governments on issues around detention
The surge in the use of immigration detention following the 9/11 attacks in the US has failed to dissipate, and it is increasingly the norm for States to detain people on security grounds. With detention conditions often failing to meet…
Cities as partners: the case of Kampala
Displacement to cities is not a new phenomenon. Though the international community is now working with a number of European cities as partners in supporting refugees, other cities like Kampala, Amman or Jalalabad have been hosting far more refugees for…