As asylum can no longer be entirely disconnected from more general migration issues, UNHCR must deal with the so-called asylum-migration nexus. In the context of industrialized states' growing interest in managed migration and the emergence of exclusion and deterrence policies, UNHCR faces the challenge of protecting bona fide refugees within broader migratory movements. Ironically, the current debates on migration control may offer new opportunities in the search for durable solutions for refugees.

An incentive for engagement

A number of EU states, in particular, have begun to make the case that the current spontaneous-arrival asylum system fails to meet the needs of the most vulnerable refugees. The majority of these, it is asserted, remain in their region of origin, without the means to use human smugglers to reach the rich North. The link between spontaneous-arrival asylum in rich countries and the absence of durable solutions in poorer ones is uncertain. But statistics on the origins of asylum applicants in industrialized states imply that a large proportion are fleeing protracted refugee situations in host states in the region of origin. Indeed, a Swiss Migration Forum study of onward secondary movement of Somali refugees reveals that many of them do not wish to move beyond the region of first asylum, but protection issues, lack of social amenities and confinement to camps force them to.[31] This has led to a growing debate over the causes of onward secondary movement. Questions have arisen, for instance, on the circumstances under which it would be legitimate to undertake a secondary movement from the first country of asylum in the region.

Strengthening protection capacities in regions of origin

Restricting the rights of refugees and delaying the attainment of durable solutions cause frustration and tension among refugees and in the host community. In such situations refugees, in particular women and children, become more vulnerable to various forms of exploitation such as trafficking and forced recruitment, and may develop a long-term dependence on humanitarian assistance. Often the result is the marginalization and isolation of refugees, which can lead to an increase in irregular movements and even to security and stability problems for the host state and other states in the region.

As such, states' interests in resolving the issue of onward secondary movement can best be met by providing effective protection in regions of origin. Starting from the premise that northern states are eager to reduce the need for onward movement, the Convention Plus initiative links this to the need to resolve the underlying causes of such movement through international cooperation.[32] It recognizes that many secondary movements are caused by the absence of secure legal status, the non-availability of long-term durable solutions, and the absence of educational or employment opportunities. Solving the problem of secondary movements, it is argued, will require a cooperative framework to strengthen protection in states of first asylum.[33]

Among donors, the European Union and the Netherlands have taken the lead in trying to improve protection capacities within regions of origin. Notably, the EU's 2004-08 budget for external cooperation on migration issues has been expanded to €250 million. In 2004, a small part of this budget was allocated to UNHCR's Strengthening Protection Capacity Project. This one-year scheme focuses on Kenya and Tanzania as states with protracted refugee situations, and Benin and Burkina Faso as emerging resettlement countries.[34]

Labour migration: a durable solution?

In political debate in industrialized states, asylum is generally seen within the wider context of immigration. The asylum-migration nexus is therefore increasingly perceived as a largely disaggregated flow in which asylum claimants are tarnished as bogus. What this view ignores is that migrants can represent productive and enterprising people. The contribution that they can make, whether as refugees or otherwise, depends on their integration within a host society. In this regard, the Declaration of The Hague on the Future of Refugee and Migrant Policy, the culmination of an initiative that coordinated the views of more than 500 people involved and interested in refugee issues, sets out 21 principles to advance the refugee and migration agenda. In particular, the declaration pointed to the need to recognize that managed migration could be in everyone's interests.[35]

Many of the industrialized states now expending vast resources on excluding and deterring asylum seekers will face labour shortages in the future as life expectancies rise and birth rates decline. This paradox may provide a key to improving access to durable solutions not only in a northern context, but also in terms of promoting solutions in the South. For example, UNHCR has begun to explore the possibility that temporary labour-migration visas might be made available to Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran. Such an approach highlights the need for the implications of the asylum-migration nexus to be fully explored in the search for durable solutions.

Targeting development assistance

Resettlement

Notes

31. Swiss Migration Forum, 'Movements of Somali Refugees and Asylum Seekers and States' Responses thereto', presented at Convention Plus Forum, Geneva, 2005. On file with the author.

32. UNHCR, 'Basic Propositions on Irregular Secondary Movements', para. 7, 2004.

33. UNHCR, 'Convention Plus Issues Paper on Addressing Irregular Secondary Movements of Refugees and Asylum Seekers', FORUM/CG/SM/03, para. 15, www.unhcr.org, 2004.

34. UNHCR, 'The Strengthening Protection Capacity Project: Project Description', www.unhcr.org, 2004.

35. United Nations Press Release, 'Secretary-General Stresses Clear Need for International Cooperation on Refugee, Migration Policy', Doc SG/SM/8522, 22 Nov. 2002.