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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. With a collection of articles written by authors from the UN, NGOs and academia, the mini-feature aims to enhance collective understanding of some of the root causes of displacement.
The full print issue can be found online at: www.fmreview.org/return
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| # | Episode Title | Description | People | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | FMR 62 - From the Editors | Voluntary return in safety and with dignity has long been a core tenet of the international refugee regime. | Marion Couldrey, Jenny Peebles | 25 Oct 2019 | |
| 30 | FMR 62 - Shared obstacles to return: Rohingya and South Sudanese | The common barriers to return in the cases of Rohingya refugees and South Sudanese IDPs prompt serious questions about how to ensure the safety and voluntariness of returns. | Daniel P Sullivan | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 29 | FMR 62 - South Sudanese returns: perceptions and responses | Gaining insight into the experiences and perceptions of refugees can help ensure programming is better able to support refugees’ durable return and reintegration. | Catherine Huser, Andrew Cunningham, Christine Kamau, Mary Obara | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 28 | FMR 62 - Return decision making by refugees | There are multiple factors influencing refugees’ decisions to return to their country of origin, not all of which reflect conventional wisdom. | Chloe Sydney | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 27 | FMR 62 - Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India: return or integration? | For Tamil refugees, considerations of sustainability affect their decision to remain in India or return to Sri Lanka. Their views and aspirations must inform planning for both integration and repatriation. | Amaya Valcárcel Silvela | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 26 | FMR 62 - Syrians in Germany: individuals’ reasons for returning or remaining | Syrian refugees in Europe are not one homogenous group but are individuals and families from different parts of Syria who have different experiences in exile and different expectations around return. | Ahmad Al Ajlan | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 25 | FMR 62 - Working with ‘stayee’ communities: learning from Eritrea | Better understanding of the perceptions and living conditions of the communities into which returnees will arrive may facilitate better integration of those returning from displacement. | Georgia Cole | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 24 | FMR 62 - Repatriation principles under pressure | The laws and norms established by the international community to ensure that organised repatriation takes place in a way that protects the rights of refugees are increasingly being violated. | Jeff Crisp | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 23 | FMR 62 - Durable solutions for returnee children | Durable solutions frameworks for measuring progress towards sustainable return and reintegration fail to specifically consider children’s different needs and experiences. | Stefanie Barratt, Marion Guillaume, Josiah Kaplan | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 22 | FMR 62 - Syrian refugees’ return from Lebanon | Analysis of return practices in Lebanon reveal challenges to voluntary, safe and dignified return. | Tamirace Fakhoury, Derya Ozkul | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 21 | FMR 62 - Encouraging Syrian return: Turkey’s fragmented approach | Turkey’s approach to encouraging refugees to return to Syria risks jeopardising the safety and voluntariness of such returns. | Zeynep Sahin Mencutek | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 20 | FMR 62 - The politics of return from Jordan to Syria | Return preparedness of Syrian refugees has become a prominent issue in Jordan, but the prospect of return raises numerous concerns. | Julia Morris | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 19 | FMR 62 - Rethinking Somali refugee solutions in Kenya | Amid uncertain return conditions, the repatriation of Somali refugees from Kenya risks leading to instances of forced return. Alternative avenues, such as local integration, should be explored. | Peter Kirui, Suzanne Francis | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 18 | FMR 62 - Educating for return: Somali refugees in Dadaab | Finding a ‘durable’ solution for Somali refugees in Dadaab means ensuring they have the knowledge, capacity, confidence and qualifications required for meaningful, lasting return. | Ochan Leomoi, Abdikadir Abikar, HaEun Kim | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 17 | FMR 62 - Forced to return? Facilitated return of refugees to Myanmar | Despite recent political developments in Myanmar and difficult conditions in Thailand, there has been widespread and deep-seated reluctance among refugees to participate in the official facilitated return mechanism. | Yuka Hasegawa | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 16 | FMR 62 - A premature attempt at cessation | There are many lessons to be learned from UNHCR’s controversial – and ultimately reversed – decision to end refugee status for Burmese Chins in India and Malaysia. | Hamsa Vijayaraghavan, Pallavi Saxena | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 15 | FMR 62 - Repatriation with dignity | The Rohingya in Bangladesh and Syrians in Lebanon have different expectations of what repatriation ‘with dignity’ would entail. | Kerrie Holloway | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 14 | FMR 62 - Minority return: the way home | Studying cases of successful minority return may help determine what policies could help other potential returnees. | Djordje Stefanovic, Neophytos Loizides | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 13 | FMR 62 - Legal preparedness for return to Syria | Preparation in terms of legal rights is crucial for Syrian refugees who are planning to return. | Martin Clutterbuck, Laura Cunial, Paola Barsanti, Tina Gewis | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 12 | FMR 62 - Return to Syria after evading conscription | Syrian refugees who have evaded military service face barriers to return which call into question the viability and sustainability of other refugee returns. | Ahmad Araman, Shaza Loutfi | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 11 | FMR 62 - IDPs of East Beirut versus the Lebanese State | This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Taif agreement that formally ended the Lebanese Civil War of 1975–1990. Three decades later, some communities remain internally displaced because of the actions of the State. | Diala Lteif | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 10 | FMR 62 - Emerging options for durable solutions in Darfur | IDPs in Darfur continue to face difficulties in securing a durable solution to their displacement. Recent developments may offer new hope for some, but complex challenges remain. | Zurab Elzarov | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 9 | FMR 62 - Political and economic reintegration: key to successful return | Refugees and IDPs require national and international actors to make concerted efforts to ensure that they are successfully reintegrated into the economic, social and political landscapes of their countries of origin. | Barbra N Lukunka, Peter de Clercq | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 8 | FMR 62 - Returns in complex environments: the case of South Sudan | Humanitarian agencies must be extremely cautious about how they support returns and relocations to ensure that they avoid causing harm or allowing humanitarian assistance to be instrumentalised by political actors. | Babette Schots, Garth Smith | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 7 | FMR 62 - Mini-feature - Preventing displacement, addressing root causes and the promise of the Global Compact on Refugees | Preventing displacement by addressing its root causes requires a holistic approach and engagement by a wide range of actors. The starting point must be a better understanding of root causes and their complexity. | Volker Türk | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 6 | FMR 62 - Mini-feature - Shifting power and changing practice to support locally led peace building | Building sustainable peace requires both a greater awareness of the dynamics of localised conflict and a willingness on the part of external actors to cede control to local actors. | Alex Shoebridge | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 5 | FMR 62 Mini-feature - Land and conflict: taking steps towards peace | Thousands of displaced Yazidis in Iraq have been assisted in making a safe, sustainable return through a project that addressed the complexity of issues around land tenure. | Oumar Sylla, Ombretta Tempra, Filiep Decorte, Clarissa Augustinus | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 4 | FMR 62 - Mini-feature - Community-level conflict prevention and peace building in DRC and Somalia | There is growing recognition of the need to address the root causes of displacement through the perspective of the humanitarian-development-peace ‘triple nexus’. A locally led programme in DRC and Somalia reflects this approach and offers useful lessons. | Wale Osofisan, Shuna Keen | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 3 | FMR 62 - Mini-feature - Gang violence, GBV and hate crime in Central America: State response versus State responsibility | Significant displacement is caused in Central America by gang violence, gender-based violence and hate crimes against LGBT+ people but State responses have failed to address their root causes. | Vickie Knox | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 2 | FMR 62 - Mini-feature - The Palestinian refugee question: root causes and breaking the impasse | Acknowledging the root causes of Palestinian displacement and objectively applying international law will be key to any solution to the Palestinian refugee question. | Francesca P Albanese, Damian Lilly | 14 Oct 2019 | |
| 1 | FMR 62 - Mini-feature - Resilience spaces: rethinking protection | Collaborative approaches to building capacities of urban IDPs and host communities are emerging as a more effective way of confronting the root causes of protracted and secondary displacement in informal settlements in Colombia. | Pablo Cortés Ferrández | 14 Oct 2019 |