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REFUGEES AND DEVELOPMENT
LECTURE EIGHT
Eunice Akullo (Ph.D)
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EVOLUTION OF THE REFUGEE AND DEVELOPMENT CONCERN
• The historical conceptualisation of refugees, was one
characterised by:
a) A temporary phenomenon
b) Planning for durable solutions ---especially voluntary
repatriation
c) Perception of refugees as a burden to the resources of the host
communities
d) Cases of tensions between the refugees and natives in the
communities of refuge
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• Hence, the discourse of “refugees as a burden” became dominant
among most places of refuge.
• This discourse was accompanied by negative relations between
refugees and host communities, as well as challenges in providing
humanitarian support to them (in situations where they seemed to
stay longer than anticipated)
• A counter discourse developed over the years, with the
realisation that in some cases, refugess may not be repatrated as
soon as supposed
• there developed a concern among donor and host communities, to
develop startegies that could address the challenges that were
related to the prolonged stay of refugees.
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• One of the debates reflecting the two discourses (academic and
policy debates) is the “camps” versus “settlements” debate
• It was observed that in the short-term, especially during
emergencies, camps served as an ideal mitigation strategy to
the challenge of refugees.
• However, over time, the circumstances in camps became
inappropriate for the needs of refugee communities.
• Some countries, while recognising these challenges of camps,
are reluctant to change for fear that alternatives may be
misunderstood for granting the option of ‘local integration’
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• Alternative settlement options, outside camps, also meant that
they were expected to do more in enabling freedom of movement, the
right to work and many other entitlements that they were not
willing to offer.
• Evidence from success cases of settlements, indicates that it
offers refugees better potential for self-reliance - being able to,
in the long-run, wean them off dependence on aid
• It also allows them to exercise agency and boosts their personal
and economic development.
• These new approached are therefore dubbed “development-based-
approaches to refugees”. They benefit donors, host communities
and the refugees.
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The Development-based-approaches to refugees
• This is also called the refugee aid and development approach.
• It emerged in the post-cold-war period, especially in Africa
and Latin America.
• During the 1980s to 2000, efforts aimed at ensuring cooperation
between donors (northern states) and host countries (those in
the South).
• The focus was on a shift from camps, towards providing more aid
for alternative development options.
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• Lessons learned from countries where these approaches were
implemented indicated that:
1) There were more infrustructural development in areas of
settlements and these benefited both refugees and host communities
2) Refugee settlements tended to be better planned that camps
3) Most of the projects aimed at enabling particiaption of refugees
(good for these agency and interraction with host communities)
4) Enabled livelihoods that provided food as well as income for other
subsistence needs
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8.
UNHCR CONVENTION PLUS INTIATIVE (2003-2005)
• A review of the refugee regime 50years after its establishsment led
to the realisation that there was a need to make adjustments to the
traditional 3 durable solutions
• In 2003, UNHCR lanched the Framework for Durable Solutions for
Refugees and Persons of Concern. The framework focused on:
i. Repatriation, reintegration, rehabilitatioon and reconstruction
ii.Development assistance to refugees
iii.development through local integration
• The framework sought solutions for refugees within the regions of
origin.
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• The thinking was shaped by a pereception of “the South
providing protection on behalf of the Borth” and
justified as follows:
If Northern donor states provided imporved
burden-sharing for protection in the South,
there would be less need for Northern states to
provide territorial asylum to spontaneous-
arrival asylum seekers in the North.Hence, the
donors would be able to manage irregular
migration better, and host states would receive
more compensation and support through
development assistance and resettlement”.
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TRANSITIONAL SOLUTIONS INITIATIVE
• UNHCR, UNDP, national goverments and other NGOs in 2011 adopted
this strategy and piloted in East Sudan and Columbia.
• The aim was to integrate refugee displacement into recovery and
development strategies - as part of the peacebuilding process.
• These aimed at creating an enabling environment for self-
reliance and resilience. This would replace previous strategies
that were promoting dependency.
• The solutions would ensure that like IDPs, refugees got their
needs attended to in post-conflict reconstruction. 10

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THE REFUGEE ECONOMY
• This is a field of refugee studies focused on the study of
refugees as persons with agency, rather than passive
victims - dependent on aid (humanitarian assistance)
• studies of refugee economies seek to draw observations from
the economic (self-reliance) experience of refugee
settlement communities.
• In uganda, Nakivaale is cited as one of the oldest refugee
settlements in Africa - one that has enabled refugees to
exercise freedom of movement and the right to work.
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• Settlement options have been observed for enabling
refugees to participate in market economies and use
the benefits for their personal and community
development.
• This has been observed among refugee communities, not
only those in the South, but those in the North as
well.
• Evidence indicates that when accelarator and incubator
programmes are sponsored and boosted among them, it
enables entrepreneurship to flourish. 12

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THE IMPORTANCE OF REFUGEE ECONOMIES
1) Promotes their socio-economic rights as guaranteed in various
legal frameworks - for example, their right to an adequate
standard of living (promoting entitlements and capabilities)
2) Infleunces policy - provides information that can enable a
better policy approach towards welfare, social cohesion and
migration.
3) Has an impact on politics - the benefits of refugees in the
country help to counter negative public narratives about them.
It has also been observed to improve their relationship with
host communities.
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CHALLENGES TO THE REFUGEE ECONOMY
a) INSTITUTIONAL - sometimes there institutional incumbrances that
may not favour them economically as compared to the locals. These
may be issues of registration, banking requirements etc
b) INDENTITY - experiences leading to asylum and refuge may have a
negative impact on how refugees view themselve. In other cases,
host communities may have stereotypes about them - and these may
affect their economic well-being.
c) SCALABILITY - critics argue that progress made by some
individuals and communities are not directly reflective of the
actual experiences of the majority. Also, teh qualitative
progress is not close to the quantitative economic reality of
many of the refugees.
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CASE OF KALOBEYEI INTEGRATED SOCIO-ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
• The 2006 Refugee Act of Kenya restricts refugee movement and
the right to work.
• Despite this hinderance, a pilot project was started in
Turkana County among refugee in Kakuma Refugee Camp. The
camp is located among the normads of Turkana.
• Given the arid nature of the land, and the livelihoods of
the community, the county government realised that having
refugees and international NGOs were potential for
development of the area. 15

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• The previous humanitarian experience that some of the
county government mamners had, was important in shaping
their approach towards enabling an environment where
refugees were protected and community members benefit.
• A fifteen year EU funded project was launched at Kakuma
camp, dubbed - KALOBEYEI INTEGRATED SOCIO-ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT PLAN (KISDEP)
• Instead of camps, the county government sought to build an
integrated settlements for both refugees and the host
community. One of the aims was to promote refugee self-
reliance. 16

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• The investments made for the refugees simultanerously benefited
the community of Kakuma.
• KISDEP ensured that the refugees exercised a right to work,
freedom of movement (within the county). This was enabled by
the 2013 devolution of power adopted in Kenya.
• The commitment of partners at the international level, such as
the EU, enabled the rolling out of the plan in 2015 and
considered in tandem with the strategy of finding solutions for
refugees “in the region of origin”.
• REVISION QUESTION: WHAT IMPORTANT LESSONS FOR REFUGEE ECONOMIES
CAN BE DRAWN FROM KISDEP? 17