As all protracted situations or mass influxes have unique characteristics, varied approaches and partnerships have been developed to improve the prospects for durable solutions in specific situations. These range from concepts such as the 4Rs, Development Assistance for Refugees and Development through Local Integration to the strategic use of resettlement. They also include the Group Methodology, the strengthening of protection capacity in regions of origin and managed labour migration. All offer ways to complement and facilitate access to the three traditional durable solutions.

Despite these initiatives, other areas remain to be explored. First, could the Framework for Durable Solutions be applied to internally displaced persons? If so, how would it need to be adapted? Second, how should durable solutions be adapted in the case of urban refugees? For example, would the solutions pertinent to Somali refugees on the Eastleigh Estate in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, be the same as for Somali refugees in the Dadaab camps in the same country? Third, how can refugees' preferences be better taken into account when implementing durable solutions? What types of participatory approaches could be used to ensure choice and compliance with the principle of voluntarism? Fourth, how should diasporas, which in many cases provide support to refugees in camps via remittances, be recognized as stakeholders in the process? And fifth, what is the role of regional approaches, as in the European Union or the West African region, and how might these be reconciled with global standards? Although these questions remain to be resolved, it is clear that the search for solutions must be comprehensive and collaborative. In each case, this means political engagement.

UNHCR's work on durable solutions recognizes the potentially complementary relationship between the three durable solutions and the way in which they can be most effectively applied within the context of comprehensive plans of action. The strategic use of resettlement, in particular, highlights how it is most effective when used not in isolation but to complement other durable solutions. From a political perspective, ensuring that stakeholders provide a combination of the durable solutions may bring previously unattainable solutions within reach. Such comprehensive approaches would need to be developed on a situational basis and be linked to wider peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction initiatives across the UN system. As was the case in 1989, when UNHCR helped to nurture comprehensive agreements relating to Indochina and Central America, achieving political agreements to overcome particular protracted refugee situations will require strong individual and institutional leadership, and a willingness to engage in political facilitation.

In seeking to implement its new approaches, UNHCR has tried to play the role of catalyst, advocating the mainstreaming of displacement issues across the UN system. Rather than confining itself to legal protection, on one extreme, or indefinitely expanding its mandate, on the other, UNHCR may take on a role that is primarily one of innovation, advocacy and facilitation. Issues such as development, migration, peace-building and security all affect the welfare of refugees and the search for durable solutions, yet rely on the collaboration of other UN agencies and NGOs in order to ensure coordinated policy-making. Creating linkages across the issue-areas of global governance represents a crucial means to channel states' existing interests and other UN agencies' expertise in these areas into improving access to durable solutions.

Towards a multilateral approach

Box 6.1 The Zambia Initiative and the Ugandan Self-Reliance Strategy