Latest news feedThe State of the World's Refugees 2006 - Chapter 3 Adressing refugee security: Preventive strategies
The challenge for the international community and host states is to comprehend the ways in which refugee policies and assistance may themselves help to reduce security threats. Understanding these connections has become an important step in the search for refugee security.
Separating militants from the general refugee population is frequently not as important as addressing the root causes of refugee involvement in crime, violence and military or subversive activities. Some argue that more effort should go towards ensuring good camp management and providing general physical protection to refugees. This necessitates increasingly comprehensive approaches to security measures, and strategies for a broad range of refugee situations which engage key actors at every stage of the humanitarian effort.[25]
Information channels
One of the most effective strategies in reducing security risks for refugees is the effective dissemination of reliable information. Dependable information is the basis of an effective early warning and assessment system which improves refugee security by ensuring that appropriate assistance measures are put in the right place at the right time.
At the country or regional level, early warning of impending emergencies can provide an indication of the composition and needs of refugee groups. Early assessment of the general situation will help gauge requirements regarding the size and location of transit facilities, camps or settlements and other assistance centres. It will allow local and international actors to prepare for potential conflicts or risks. Ideally, it prevents security problems from arising, rather than just dealing with them when they occur. The early assessment of the security situation in the Presevo Valley in Kosovo, for instance, helped prevent an outbreak of violence in the area (see Box 4.1).
Of equal importance to refugee protection are specific assessment and reconnaissance missions designed to provide a detailed evaluation of the security situation, determine the extent of infiltration by armed elements and recommend appropriate measures. For example, a security plan would document the best means to distinguish armed elements or combatants from bona fide refugees; identify traditional conflicts or grievances within the refugee population or between refugees and local groups; and indicate the location of landmines or unexploded ordnance in the vicinity of settlements, among other things.
The development of effective and objective information channels as well as reporting and complaint mechanisms is crucial to refugee assistance and protection. Camp situations are often breeding grounds for rumour and misinformation. Credible information channels are therefore vital to give refugees the accurate information required to defuse tensions. Regular and non-confrontational discussions between camp authorities, humanitarian agencies and representatives of host and refugee communities would allow grievances to be voiced and develop a forum for constructive dialogue.
Keeping information channels open is a priority if programmes addressing sexual and gender-based violence are to succeed. An atmosphere of awareness is a precondition when creating an environment in which vulnerable women and children can air their concerns without fear of retribution or social stigma.
Relationships of trust are the most basic building blocks of preventive security strategies. Trust relies not only on transparent procedures but also on direct and easy access to humanitarian and protection personnel, encouraging refugees to report security incidents and fears. This in turn provides a more accurate picture of the security situation and reinforces understanding and respect for mutual responsibilities and obligations under the law.
Another dimension of information is its transformative and educational force. This applies to efforts to accurately inform host populations about the plight of those arriving in their midst, thereby helping to combat prejudice and xenophobia. In many refugee situations peace-education programmes serve a crucial role in helping to resolve conflict at all levels. Such initiatives often require that governments and humanitarian workers alike recognize the importance of refugee self-expression, and challenge them to distinguish between illicit political activity and the necessary and legitimate expression of human concerns. Efforts which aim to engage refugees in peace processes in their home countries may help prevent armed conflict by allowing the channelling of grievances peacefully and by re-establishing constructive relationships between their former homes and places of exile.
All states that have acceded to the international instruments relating to the protection and assistance of refugees have an obligation to implement national legislation which is consistent with those instruments. Where a country has not acceded to these instruments, it may still have laws that support the protection of refugees and formalize the customary international norm of non-refoulement.
Where national legislation ignores the rights of refugees, it limits their ability to become self-reliant. For example, restrictive legislation in Kenya and Tanzania does not allow refugees to leave camps; as a result, most refugees in these countries remain entirely dependent on international assistance. Besides putting a large financial burden on the international community, this dependence contributes to a climate of idleness and apathy in the camps which may push refugees into crime or military activity.
The same dangers exist in richer countries. Here, government policies which risk undermining the principle of non-refoulement or take greater recourse to the detention of asylum seekers present new risks to refugee security.[26] Indeed, as a result of states' increasing fears of international terrorism, many countries have passed restrictive legislation that has made it more difficult for genuine refugees to reach safety. This forces refugees to turn to human smugglers and take ever greater risks in an attempt to reach safety. Indiscriminate detention poses a direct threat to the security of individuals and drives genuine refugees underground. It also links refugees and common criminals in the public mind, increasing prejudice and xenophobic responses. This is just one example of the way in which national refugee policy can create conflicts between refugees and local populations.
Put in simple terms, governments have two options in dealing with refugees: one is to restrict contact between them and the host community; the other is to enhance mutual understanding and thereby help in the creation of common control mechanisms. In this respect, the efforts of some governments to restrict refugee movement do not seem to have had the desired effect of reducing tensions with the local population. Rather, the opposite seems to be the case. Sudanese refugees have been targeted by local communities in Kenya and Uganda. In the former, the majority of the Sudanese belong to an ethnic group that has a history of enmity with the local Turkana people over cattle-rustling. In the latter, the Sudanese Acholi people have traditionally been disliked by the local population.
In contrast, in some areas of Pakistan the government has successfully established a number of informal community-cooperation arrangements to enhance relations between encamped refugees and surrounding communities. In Sierra Leone, where locals have generally regarded the refugee population with suspicion, the separation of armed elements and the direction of resources towards local communities have defused these tensions.
Camps may be a convenient way to channel and distribute humanitarian aid to large groups of refugees. At the same time, they are unnatural, closed environments which can leave refugees vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation, with the danger increasing where such situations are prolonged.[27] Where encampment cannot be avoided in the first instance, planning is essential to ensure that the size, layout and organization of a refugee camp are conducive to the maintenance of security, especially for vulnerable groups such as female-headed households, single women, unaccompanied children and the elderly.
Here size and location can make a difference. In Kenya, the huge refugee camp of Kakuma, with 90,000 refugees, and the three camps of Dadaab (Dagahaley, Ifo and Hagadera) with more than 35,000 people each, are quite difficult to manage in terms of aid distribution and oversight.[28] To mitigate some of the adverse effects of encampment, guidelines advise that a camp's population should not exceed 20,000 and that it should provide at least 45 square metres per person.[29]
Furthermore, adequate access to basic services such as water, latrines, distribution points and educational facilities can help enhance security, as can proper lighting at night.
Placing or relocating refugee camps a significant distance from national borders or areas of lawlessness helps improve security. But this can only be done with the approval of the host government. In 2003, the Government of Guinea accepted the relocation of refugees from the south to more central locations in order to reduce the threat posed by combatants infiltrating the settlements.[30] In Panama and Chad, relocation has helped ease security concerns for Colombian and Sudanese refugees, respectively.[31] Often, however, host governments are reluctant to have camps moved to, or established in, locations away from the border for political reasons. They may fear that the further from the border the refugees are, the more difficult it will be to send them home.
In some contexts, resistance to relocation may come from the refugees themselves. They may share ethnic, linguistic, religious or cultural traits with local communities closer to the border, making assimilation or cohabitation easier. Indeed, locating camps in areas where a sense of community can be fostered is beneficial to both local and refugee populations. The trade-offs inherent in such decisions must be carefully evaluated in consultation with the refugees.
Improving refugee-host relations
Real or perceived competition for scarce resources is bound to breed mistrust and intolerance and sometimes open aggression. In this sense, effective refugee protection needs to address the relationship between refugees and their hosts; ideally it would integrate the needs and rights of both populations to the greatest extent possible. In developing countries this means minimizing disparities between the standards of living of refugees and host populations. Improvements to the infrastructure for water, sanitation, health and roads must benefit the entire local community if refugees are not to be perceived as a privileged group and thereby resented. Communication strategies must link material assistance to the themes of co-existence and respect for human rights, while public-information programmes teach the local population about refugees.[32] Local authorities should be helped to communicate with refugee representatives to promote trust between the communities and provide a mediation mechanism in case of conflict.
The establishment of programmes to raise ecological awareness in large refugee populations can help stimulate the local economy and minimize the impact of refugees on the environment, thereby reducing potential conflicts with the local population. Programmes in which firewood is harvested from sustainable sources or purchased from local contractors and supplied to the camps may help to dissuade refugees from sourcing it themselves, again reducing conflicts with the local community.
Ultimately, the ability of people to act on their own is critical to human security.[33] It enhances the credibility of information and allows people to exercise their potential as individuals and to re-establish or reintegrate into peaceful and functioning communities. The participation of refugees in the physical planning and management of a camp is thus as essential as their involvement in the mechanisms governing assistance and protection. This applies to the smallest unit of human organization, the family unit, which is a vital mechanism for security and stability in a refugee camp. Parental responsibility enhances the safety and discipline of children and youths. Moreover, it increases the protection of women and children from sexual abuse and prevents the recruitment of youths for military purposes.
In this context, educational opportunities and training programmes not only provide opportunities for the future but also help prevent the recruitment of youths by armed and subversive elements. In protracted refugee situations primary and secondary education, vocational training and income-generating programmes help refugees become economically self-sufficient and restore their self-esteem. Such initiatives are generally seen to have a positive impact on security both in the short and long term.
 Developing responses |
Notes
26. V. Türk, 'Forced Migration and Security', pp. 115-6.
27. J-F. Durieux, 'Preserving the Civilian Character of Refugee Camps: Lessons from the Kigoma Programme in Tanzania', Track Two, vol. 9, no. 3, November 2000.
28. UNHCR, 2005 Country Operations Report: Kenya.
29. UNHCR, Handbook for Emergencies, Second Edition, 2000, p. 137.
30. UNHCR, 'Hot Spots Brief on Guinea', July 17, 2003.
31. UNHCR, 2004 Annual Protection Report: Panama, p. 12.
32. Commission on Human Security, Human Security Now, pp. 124-5.
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