Refugee returnees – Evaluation synthesis series

Most returnees go home outside any formal repatriation exercise, and voluntariness is assessed as a binary choice when returnees face a range of imperfect options. Civil documentation is the gateway to land, schooling, work and freedom of movement. Returns prove more durable where UNHCR takes an area-based approach and engages development actors from the outset, yet conditions in areas of return are rarely assessed or monitored.