Sanctuary in the City? Urban Displacement and Vulnerability in Amman
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Sanctuary in the city? Urban displacement and vulnerability in Amman Sara Pavanello with Simone Haysom HPG Working Paper March 2012 hpg Humanitarian Policy Group About the authors Sara Pavanello and Simone Haysom are Research Officers in the Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the many people and organisations who contributed in numerous ways to this study, including the provision of documents and materials and revisions of drafts. Particular thanks to Géraldine Chatelard (UNESCO), Yorgos Kapranis (ECHO), Amra Nuhbegovic and Arafat Jamal (UNHCR), Lucas Oesch (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies), Thomas Thomsen (DANIDA), and Peter Van Der Auweraert (IOM). The authors are especially grateful to Kate Washington (CARE Jordan) for her invaluable support, particularly during the finalisation of the report. Many thanks to Matthew Foley for his expert editing of the report. This study was funded primarily by DANIDA through HPG’s Integrated Programme (IP). A full list of IP funders is available at www.odi.org.uk/hpg/integratedprogramme. ODI gratefully acknowledges this financial support. Humanitarian Policy Group Overseas Development Institute 111 Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7JD United Kingdom Tel: +44(0) 20 7922 0300 Fax: +44(0) 20 7922 0399 Website: www.odi.org.uk/hpg Email: [email protected] ISBN: 978-1-907288-53-1 © Overseas Development Institute, 2012 Readers are encouraged to quote or reproduce materials from this publication but, as copyright holders, ODI requests due acknowledgement and a copy of the publication. This and other HPG Reports are available from www.odi.org.uk/hpg. Contents Chapter 1 Introducton and methodology 1 1.1 Objectives and methodology 1 1.2 Terminology 2 Chapter 2 Internal dsplacement and urbansaton 3 2.1 History and drivers of displacement in Jordan 3 2.2 Displacement and urban growth in Amman 3 Chapter 3 Legal and polcy frameworks 7 3.1 Legal frameworks for human rights protection 7 3.2 Legal and policy frameworks for refugees 7 Chapter 4 Protecton and access to justce 9 4.1 Protection threats 9 4.2 Formal protection mechanisms 9 4.3 Informal protection mechanisms 9 4.4 Governance 10 Chapter 5 The economy and lvelhoods 11 5.1 The urban economy 11 5.2 Livelihood opportunities for displaced populations in Amman 11 Chapter 6 Basc servces and nfrastructure 13 6.1 Education 13 6.2 Health 14 6.3 Shelter and housing 15 Chapter 7 Land 17 7.1 Land law and urban planning 17 7.2 Land policy and informal settlements 17 7.3 Security of tenure in the informal settlements 17 Chapter 8 Internatonal assstance 19 8.1 Assistance to Iraqi refugees 19 8.2 Assistance to Jordanians of Palestinian origin and ex-Gazans 20 8.3 Durable solutions for displaced populations 20 Chapter 9 Conclusons and recommendatons 23 9.1 Recommendations 23 Bblography 25 HPG Working Paper HPG workInG PaPer Map of amman and envrons ajloun Balqa Jarash Balqa Jarash Mafraq l-Zarqa a al-Zarqa a l-Zarqa Balqa al-Zarqa a l-Zarqa Balqa amman Al-Salt Yajouz Al-Hussein refugee camp North Hashemi Balqa amman amman Al-Wehdat refugee camp Naour Sahab amman Madaba Balqa Madaba Madaba Sanctuary in the city? Amman case study HPG workInG PaPer Chapter 1 Introducton and methodology In recent decades, many cities and towns around the world 1.1 objectves and methodology have seen dramatic population growth, with significant inflows from rural areas. A prominent feature of this global trend of The objectives of this case study are to: urbanisation is forced displacement triggered by armed conflict, violence and political instability and slow- and sudden-onset (1) deepen understanding of the drivers and history of dis- disasters – or a combination of these factors. Many of those placement in Amman; forcibly displaced have moved to urban areas in search of (2) review policies and legal frameworks for refugees, including greater security, including a degree of anonymity, better access housing and land policies; to basic services and greater economic opportunities. Today, (3) discuss the specific protection threats affecting displaced approximately half of the world’s estimated 10.5 million refugees populations living in Amman and how they compare with and at least four million internally displaced people (IDPs) are other urban poor; thought to live in urban areas (UNHCR, 2009a; Fielden, 2008). (4) assess the specific vulnerabilities of the displaced part- icularly in relation to access to basic services, urban While a number of studies in recent years have sought infrastructure and livelihood opportunities and how they to analyse urban livelihoods and urban governance, there compare with other urban poor; and remains little understanding of how the displaced negotiate (5) suggest potential entry points where the international aid their way in the urban environment, their relationships with community can best engage with displaced people living the host community and governance institutions, and what in Amman, and the implications for humanitarian and their specific vulnerabilities are compared with other urban development programming in this regard. poor. In addition, the role of humanitarian and development actors in supporting these populations, and the strategies and This case study relies mainly on secondary sources on approaches that are best suited to address the assistance and displaced populations, economic migrants and other urban protection needs of urban IDPs, are still poorly understood. poor living in Amman. The documents for this literature review were collected from English-language sources only. The Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) at the Overseas Published literature was identified through internet searches Development Institute (ODI), in cooperation with the Internal and a systematic search of the websites of organisations Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the International and international fora concerned with urban displacement Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), is carrying out a series and humanitarian action in Iraq, Syria, Jordan and elsewhere of studies between 2010 and 2012 on urban displacement. in the Middle East, such as the Institut français du Proche- This multi-year research project, supported by the Ministry of Orient (IFPO), the Middle East Institute (MEI), the Fondation Foreign Affairs of Denmark, will explore the phenomenon of pour la Recherche Stratégique (FRS), the Project on Forced displacement in the urban environment and the implications Displacement in Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan, the Refugee and challenges that it poses for humanitarian action. Through Studies Centre, the Carnegie Endowment for International field research in eight urban centres in Africa, the Middle East Peace, the International Crisis Group and the Brookings and Central Asia, the research aims to consider the reality of Institution. The websites of UN agencies and NGOs working life for displaced populations in urban areas, investigate the in Jordan were also searched. Government policies and other policy and operational challenges that confront national and material available online were consulted. Press sources such international stakeholders when responding to the needs as the BBC, Al-Jazeera and the New York Times were examin- of urban IDPs and refugees, and offer recommendations for ed. Keywords used in the search of online documents include: strengthening support to these populations. urban displacement, urban vulnerability, urban poverty, Amman, Iraqi refugees, Jordan, Palestinian refugees, human This case study is part of this series, and part of a larger body rights, informal settlements, living conditions, services, of work undertaken by HPG on urbanisation including a DFID- livelihoods and urban growth. funded research study on urbanisation in Sudan (‘City Limits: Urbanisation and Vulnerability in Sudan’, published in January The findings of secondary sources were also triangulated 2011) and a study of urban refugees in Nairobi undertaken and complemented with interviews with representatives jointly by HPG and the International Rescue Committee in of international organisations, researchers, experts and partnership with the Refugee Consortium of Kenya (Pavanello government agencies during a one-week visit by the author et al., 2010). to Amman. 1 HPG Working Paper HPG workInG PaPer 1.2 Termnology Palestinians and more recently Iraqis have been welcomed into Jordan on these terms. This study recognises that This study uses the definition of informal settlements Palestinians have long lived in Jordan, and the great majority articulated by UN-HABITAT (2006): ‘(i) residential areas where have long been granted de facto and de jure integration; as a group of housing units has been constructed on land to such their situation and needs are fundamentally different which the occupants have no legal claim, or which they from those of Iraqi refugees and other refugee nationalities occupy illegally; (ii) unplanned settlements and areas where who have sought sanctuary in the country in recent years. housing is not in compliance with current planning and Since no recent waves of internally displaced persons (IDPs) building regulations (unauthorised housing)’. were identified in the secondary sources or in interviews with key informants, this case study focuses only on refugees. As The term ‘displaced’ is used in this study to refer to the refu- of June 2011 there were also 1,952 UNHCR-registered non- gee caseload, particularly