Research
A Place to Call Home
New! Briefing papers from Austcare/Griffith University (click on title to view):
Briefing Paper: Sri Lanka. Protracted Conflict: Protection Challenges for Humanitarian Agencies, by Hazel Lang and Anita Knudsen
Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal: Anticipating the Impact of Resettlement, by Susan Banki
Protracted Displacement
While worldwide refugee numbers have fallen to their lowest level in 25 years, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) has substantially risen. There are currently 9 million refugees around the world, and a further 25 million internally displaced. A large percentage of refugees and IDPs are displaced for longer periods than in previous years, with many displaced communities facing no option to return home. The average length of protracted displacement is now 17 years. Today, there are at least 33 protracted refugee situations, each consisting of at least 25,000 people. Refugees and IDPs in protracted situations face significant restrictions on their rights. The prolonged encampment of refugees perpetuates poverty and promotes insecurity. Protracted refugee and IDP situations represent a significant challenge to both human rights and security. To date, research on protracted refugee and IDP situations have focused largely on cases in Africa. Austcare aims to draw attention to significant cases of protracted displacement in the Asia-Pacific.
Austcare's Response
Austcare recognises that sound research properly applied can play a significant role in improving the lives of refugees, IDPs and returnees.
We are continually working to enhance our understanding of the risks faced by refugees and IDPs, with the goal of increasing their ability to resolve or improve their own circumstances.
The Research Partnership
To undertake this task, Austcare in partnership with the Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance at Griffith University, has embarked on a three-year Australian Research Council Linkage project, A Place to Call Home.
The project is exploring a broad view of protection, linking legal interpretations to wider conditions underpinning displacement. We are particularly interested in understanding the perspectives of refugees and IDPs themselves in relation to protection concerns and future solutions. Based on comparative empirical research in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand, A Place to Call Home aims to make a practical contribution to conceptual thinking about and policy responses to durable solutions for some of the region's most complex protracted refugee and IDP situations.
The project aims to:
1. Map the current character of and responses to protracted refugee and IDPs situations;
2. Investigate the key protection issues to enhance the achievement of durable solutions in the five case studies;
3. Map, from the perspective of refugees and IDPs, specific vulnerabilities in terms of protection needs and the three durable solutions;
4. Identify the political conditions, dynamics, resources, and institutional capacity that would enhance and support solutions;
5. Analyse comparatively the effectiveness of existing practices and strategies in planning and implementation of durable solutions;
6. Examine the applicability of lessons learnt for current case studies; and
7. Develop protection practices and options for fostering durable solutions.
A Place to Call Home seeks to refocus the current research agenda by drawing attention to the most significant and challenging cases of protracted displacement in Asia:
Thailand: Thailand is host to the largest protracted refugee situation in South East Asia, and prospects for a safe and sustainable repatriation remain untenable in the present context of chronic human insecurity in Myanmar. Over two decades since the first 'semi-permanent' camps were established the total caseload of people living in the border camps is some 165,000, with a steady flow of arrivals continuing each month. Since 2006, resettlement as a durable solution is now firmly on the agenda.
Nepal: Around 105,000 Bhutanese refugees or Lhotshampas have been living in seven camps in Nepal for up to sixteen years. Despite fifteen rounds of bilateral negotiations between Bhutan and Nepal on repatriation, not a single refugee has returned home. Despite recent initiatives for potential repatriation, we are witnessing second-generation refugee children.
Sri Lanka: Since 1983, displacement in Sri Lanka has been embedded in intractable conflict. Many IDPs have experience protracted, repeated, and ongoing cycles of displacement whilst some IDPs have stayed temporarily in the same place for more than 10 years. Highly politicised durable solutions and a rapidly deteriorating security situation create a particular challenge to protection approaches in an internally displaced context.
Afghanistan: Although many of the six million Afghan refugees have repatriated, the continuation of armed conflict and deteriorating law and order has resulted in a large numbers choosing not to return. Moreover, even as substantial numbers of refugees have returned, the volatile political situation and continued violence have produced new refugee outflows. This situation has seen Afghans remain the largest single refugee group in the world for the past 20 years. The current number of Afghan refugees is estimated to be more than two million.
Bangladesh: There are no signs for durable solutions for the remaining 26 000 Rohingyas - who fled Burma (Myanmar) in the early 1990s from ethnic and religious persecution. The situation of the Rohingyas in Bangladesh includes a lack of recognition of refugee status and the threat of forcible return. Despite dire living conditions in the camps in Bangladesh, many of the refugees are not willing to return. At the same time, many more have chosen not to take shelter in the camps out of a fear of being returned forcibly.
Project Personnel
The project personnel consist of a team of researchers from Griffith University, University of Sydney and Australian National University, who work closely with Austcare's Protection Team and regional Program Managers.
For further information please visit http://www.griffith.edu.au/centre/kceljag
Other Recent Research
Austcare is committed to research initiatives that can enhance our work, inform policy development, and share insights across local communities, donors, humanitarian actors and governments. Below are recent policy and research results.
- Austcare, Integrated Mine Action: Lessons and Recommendations from Austcare's Program in Cambodia, January 2007.
- Austcare and Standing Tall Australia, Landmine Victim Assistance in Integrated Mine Action Programs: Recommendations, February 2006.
- A presentation given by Mike Smith to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs