<Solutions about:

* Voluntary Repatriation<
* Refugees Who Do Not Want to Repatriate<
* Evacuation or Return Under Difficult Conditions<
* Returnees<
* Local Integration<
* Resettlement<

<Voluntary Repatriation

The issue of voluntariness is central to refugee repatriation. Refugees should not be compelled to return to their countries of origin, nor should they be prevented from returning. (In some situations, groups in the country of asylum may try to prevent refugees from repatriating because of economic interests; in other cases, refugee leaders or self-proclaimed leaders may try to force the rest of the refugee community to repatriate or, alternatively, to remain in the country of asylum for political or other reasons.) UNHCR and NGO staff should meet with refugees who are considering return, talk to them about their decision, and request written confirmation that the decision has been made freely and with full awareness of the conditions they will find in their home country. Repatriation that is voluntary is far more likely to be lasting and sustainable than repatriation that is coerced.

Voluntary repatriation means that, after reviewing all available information about conditions in their country of origin, refugees decide freely to return home. People usually decide to return when there is no longer any risk of persecution in their country of origin. Others may decide to return for political or family reasons even though the situation in their country of origin has not changed.

UNHCR endorses a comprehensive approach to voluntary repatriation. The agency assesses the root causes of refugee flight, institutions in the country of origin and the sustainability of the return before promoting voluntary repatriation to refugees. Essentially, refugees must be able to return in safety and with dignity.

Return in safety means that refugees return in conditions of legal safety (such as amnesties or public assurances of personal safety, integrity, non-discrimination and freedom from fear of persecution or punishment upon return), physical security (including protection from armed attacks, and mine-free routes or at least demarcated settlement sites), and material security, including access to land or a means of livelihood.

Return with dignity means, in practice, that refugees must not be manhandled; that they can return unconditionally and that if they are returning spontaneously, they can do so at their own pace; that they are not arbitrarily separated from family members; and that they are treated with respect and full acceptance by their national authorities, including having their rights fully restored.

According to its Statute, UNHCR may promote or facilitate voluntary repatriation. UNHCR promotes voluntary repatriation when certain essential preconditions are met:

• There must be an overall, general improvement in the situation in the country of origin so that return in safety and with dignity becomes possible for the large majority of refugees.
• All parties must be committed to respect fully the voluntary character of the repatriation.
• The country of origin must have provided a formal guarantee, or adequate assurances for the safety of repatriating refugees, as appropriate.
• UNHCR must have free and unhindered access to refugees and returnees.
• The basic terms and conditions of return should, if possible, be incorporated in a formal repatriation agreement between UNHCR and the authorities concerned.

There can be two kinds of voluntary repatriation: organised and spontaneous. Voluntary repatriation promoted by UNHCR usually results in an organised repatriation.

Organised repatriations are characterised by:

• a resolution of the conflict which prompted refugees to flee;
• repatriation agreements concluded among the countries of asylum and origin and UNHCR;
• encouragement of repatriation by UNHCR;
• registration of returnees by UNHCR;
• transportation for the returnees provided by UNHCR;
• a UNHCR presence in the regions of return.

Spontaneous repatriations often occur

• without any formal agreements;
• before the cessation of hostilities;
• without registration procedures;
• without organised international assistance.

When refugees indicate a strong desire to return voluntarily and/or they have begun to do so on their own initiative, UNHCR may facilitate their return, even if UNHCR does not consider it safe for them to return and is not promoting repatriation.

In these circumstances, UNHCR must be satisfied that the refugees' wish to return is voluntary and not coerced. The agency's decision to facilitate this kind of return is based on its intent to ensure the safety of the refugees/returnees and to provide assistance for the return movement. Clearly, refugees repatriating spontaneously could face grave security problems if they are returning to an area in which fighting is still raging. In some cases, UNHCR declines to participate in such returns.

UNHCR and NGOs should try to maintain a presence in the areas of return to monitor the situation and try to prevent human rights abuses. They should also promote a dialogue between the conflicting parties as a way of helping to minimise the security risks for the returnees.

TOP<

<Refugees Who Do Not Want to Repatriate

What happens if a refugee does not want to repatriate? Arrangements for voluntary return must always be accompanied by contingency plans for those refugees who want to remain in the country of asylum. Some refugees may not feel the security situation in their country has changed sufficiently for them to return; some may still be haunted by traumatic experiences before or during flight.

Unless the cessation clause of the 1951 Refugee Convention has been invoked, a person's refugee status remains unchanged. The cessation clause stipulates that international protection is no longer justified when the circumstances that led to recognition of refugee status no longer exist because of significant changes in the country where persecution was feared. In these cases, a person can no longer refuse to avail him/herself of the protection of his/her country of origin.

If a person does not want to repatriate, the reasons for his/her position must be assessed to ascertain whether he/she is in need of international protection.

After many years of exile, there may be especially vulnerable individuals, such as elderly or seriously handicapped refugees, who have lost all contact with their country of origin and who have no family support. For these refugees, the country of asylum has become home. UNHCR and NGOs should work closely with the host government to seek a solution, on humanitarian grounds, for these persons, though they may no longer need international protection as refugees.

Refugees can also be referred for resettlement, if the relevant criteria apply.

TOP<

<Evacuation or Return Under Difficult Conditions

Despite almost universal recognition that refugee repatriation should be voluntary, the reality is often very different. For many refugees, the decision to return home is made under some kind of political or material pressure or in the face of threats to the refugee's security. The government of the country of asylum or the local community there may pressure the refugees to return to their country of origin or may force the refugees to return, thus violating the principle of non-refoulement. A deterioration in conditions in the country of asylum-whether as a result of social or political violence, declining economic opportunities or reductions in international assistance-may also force refugees to return home.

If efforts to allow the refugees to remain in the country of asylum fail, then UNHCR and NGOs often decide to work to ensure the safe reception and reintegration of returnees in their country of origin. Organisations sometimes negotiate with the country of origin for guarantees of safe passage out of the country so asylum and/or resettlement can be arranged elsewhere. These are humanitarian interventions that do not in any way contradict or compromise the principles of voluntary repatriation.

Nonetheless, these returns pose serious moral dilemmas for UNHCR and NGOs. They must decide whether to offer assistance in what are often essentially imposed returns. In these cases, the risk of undermining the principle of voluntariness must be weighed against the ability to save people's lives.

TOP<

<Returnees

The principle of return in safety and with dignity applies even after the movement home is completed. Returnees, therefore, should be monitored until conditions in the country of origin can be considered stable, national protection is again available and returnees are reintegrated.

The country of origin is responsible for the protection of returnees. But UNHCR and NGOs should monitor returnees to ensure that amnesties or guarantees offered by the government of the country of origin are fulfilled and that returnees enjoy the same human rights and fundamental freedoms as their fellow citizens.

The objective in monitoring returnees is to help ensure a successful and lasting repatriation, including a durable relationship between the citizen and the State and the early and full restoration of national protection. Returnee monitoring is not meant to provide returning refugees with privileges or to elevate their standard of living above that of the local population. Rather, it seeks to ensure that all returnees' human rights are respected and that returnees are not targeted for harassment, intimidation, punishment, violence, or denial of access to public institutions or services or discriminated against in the enjoyment of any basic right.

Information gathered through monitoring the re-integration of returnees also helps refugees in countries of asylum make informed decisions about whether or not to return home. In many instances, this information addresses refugees' specific concerns, such as security conditions in the areas of return, availability of land, access to private property, access to social services, the condition of schools and infrastructure, etc.

Monitoring is also essential when access to land is an issue. Returnees should have the right to use or to acquire legal ownership of a plot of land for either residential or agricultural purposes. Access to land can be a very contentious issue, especially following conflict. For that reason, the interests and legitimate rights of returnees must be protected. Special attention in this area must be given to returning female heads of households. If necessary, UNHCR or NGOs must intervene with the authorities of the country of origin to ensure that returnee female heads of households have access to land on an equal footing as returnee men.

Assistance is part of protection. Returns will be durable if social and economic conditions in the areas of return help ease reintegration. Repairing or replacing infrastructure, restoring the social order (by providing access to education, women's organisations, or skills training for adolescents) and offering income-generating schemes when necessary can help build confidence among the returnee community and foster a sense of belonging. Any assistance provided to the returnees should also benefit the local community. That will help prevent feelings of resentment toward the returnees among the local population.

TOP<

<Local Integration

Although voluntary repatriation is the preferred outcome for most refugees and countries of asylum, other durable solutions should not be overlooked. Local integration in the country of asylum is one such solution. But local settlement can only be achieved with the consent and active participation of the government concerned.

Usually, developing States will not welcome large numbers of refugees for local integration given the economic, environmental and demographic problems they face. Industrialised countries, too, may balk at settling refugees given the high cost of welfare services needed to help integrate the refugees.

For local integration to work as a durable solution, certain conditions must be in place:

• the host government must fully agree to and actively support efforts to integrate refugee populations;
• the local population in the area in which the refugees are to be settled must support the refugees' long-term presence;
• local integration must be economically viable, that is, agricultural land must be available to rural refugee communities, as well as access to markets, employment and income-generating opportunities;
• there must be sufficient external financial support, especially in the initial stages of integration;
• local integration must be voluntary;
• refugees must be fully incorporated into their new society, which means, among other things, that they have the opportunity to acquire national citizenship and to exercise all the rights that citizenship confers.

It is important to remember, however, that local integration should not be used as a pretext to limit the right of refugees to return to their country of origin. This is a particular danger in situations where people have become refugees as a result of expulsions on ethnic or communal grounds, and where authorities in the country of origin are opposed to the refugees' return.

TOP<

<Resettlement

Resettlement is a vital tool of international protection and a durable solution to the problems of refugees. Resettlement under UNHCR auspices is primarily geared to the special needs of refugees whose lives, liberty, safety, health or other fundamental human right is at risk in the country in which they sought refuge. It is also considered a solution, in particular circumstances, for refugees who do not have immediate physical protection concerns.

Refugees may be denied basic human rights in a country of refuge; their lives and freedom may be threatened by local elements driven by racial, religious or political motives, or by attacks and assassinations directed from the outside. The authorities in the country of refuge may be unable or unwilling to provide effective protection; or the refugees may be threatened with refoulement. In these circumstances, resettlement becomes a principal objective.

Resettlement may also meet special needs of a refugee that cannot be adequately addressed in the country of refuge. In these cases, resettlement is used as an instrument of international protection for refugees who survived torture and violence, the disabled and other injured or severely-traumatised refugees who need specialised treatment unavailable in their country of refuge. Resettlement is often the only way to reunite refugee families who, through no fault of their own, find themselves divided by borders or by entire continents. In addition, resettlement can also provide a solution for refugees who are unable to return home in the foreseeable future and who have no prospects for local integration within the country of refuge.

Third-country resettlement involves the transfer of refugees from the country in which they sought refuge to another State that has agreed to admit these people. They will usually be granted asylum or some other form of long-term residence rights; in many cases, they will also be given the opportunity to become naturalised citizens.

Individual countries use a wide range of criteria for determining who is eligible for resettlement in their country. UNHCR has its own resettlement criteria and related considerations that help identify refugees in need of resettlement. (These criteria, along with practical information on phases of resettlement, can be found in the UNHCR Resettlement Handbook, produced by UNHCR's Division of International Protection.) The identification of refugees in need of resettlement and the assessment of cases should be an active and systematic process involving, as appropriate, NGOs and government authorities.

Among cases to be promoted for resettlement, priority should be given to those refugees with acute legal and physical protection needs and, in particular, to women-at-risk and unaccompanied children for whom resettlement has been found to be in their best interests.
Refugees can be said to need acute legal and physical protection particularly when they face:

• an immediate or long-term threat of refoulement to the country of origin or expulsion to another country from which they may be refouled;
• a threat of arbitrary arrest, detention or imprisonment;
• a threat to physical safety or human rights in the country of refuge analogous to that considered under the refugee definition, making asylum untenable.

NGOs play a significant role in providing various resettlement services. The role and function of NGOs vary from country to country; but in many cases, these organisations act as liaisons between the refugee, UNHCR and the receiving Government. In many resettlement countries, NGOs are in the forefront of advocating for refugee protection and assistance with their Governments,the public and other organisations. Advocacy can take the form of individual casework for specific refugees or working more broadly with officials and politicians to promote positive and expedited admission decisions.

In countries of asylum, NGOs help counsel and assist refugees who may be eligible for resettlement. Their pre-screening work is often used by officials of resettlement countries in the first step towards determining a refugee's eligibility for resettlement. In resettlement countries, NGOs are the primary providers of services to the arriving refugee. Depending on the social welfare system of the resettlement country, NGOs can assist refugees in gaining access to medical care and education; they may also provide language and skills training and help in finding employment. NGOs also work to assure that any special needs (such as counselling for victims of torture or rape) are met and help refugees and their families make new friends and contacts so they adjust successfully to their new environment.

For purposes of resettlement, UNHCR considers women-at-risk those refugee women or women of concern to UNHCR who have protection problems and find themselves without the support of traditional protection mechanisms. Special needs of refugee women in such circumstances could derive from persecution as well as from particular hardships sustained either in their country of origin, during flight or in their country of refuge.

TOP<