Refugees and the Regional Dynamics of Peacebuilding
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Refugees and the Regional Dynamics of Peacebuilding APRIL 2011 Introduction By their very nature, refugee movements regionalize the effects of conflict as they spill over into neighboring territories. This is particularly true in the world's poorest and most unstable regions, where countries like Guinea, Tanzania, and Pakistan have opened their borders to hundreds of thousands of On May 3-4, 2010, the International refugees. Host countries may in some instances already be involved—either Peace Institute (IPI) and the Pierre directly or indirectly—in the conflict, but refugee flows can also generate 1 Elliott Trudeau Foundation of instability in neighboring countries and trigger cross-border interventions. Montreal co-hosted an event The mass arrival and prolonged presence of refugees in neighboring entitled “Refugees and the Regional countries can have a negative impact on peace: armed elements within the Dynamics of Peacebuilding.”* This refugee population can act as spoilers to a peace process; host countries can event brought together approxi - push for for early and unsustainable repatriation; refugees can be politicized mately forty policy experts and either before or during exile; and refugees can put a major strain on host- practitioners from the humanitarian country capacity. But the reverse is also true, in that there are cases where host countries have been inspired to play a positive role in finding solutions to a and peacebuilding communities for crisis in order to resolve the refugee situation. Likewise, refugees may a focused discussion on the regional contribute to peacebuilding in their country of origin, especially when they dynamics of refugee situations and benefit from training while in exile. conflict, and the need for integrated peace building strategies to improve Yet the issue of refugees has entered very little into contemporary discus - sions of peacebuilding. Most policy and research on peacebuilding focuses on these dynamics. efforts to consolidate peace and prevent a return to conflict. Refugees are only 2 This meeting note was drafted by addressed as a secondary concern. It can be challenging enough to ensure that rapporteur Paul Romita, IPI Policy security and development actors are on the same page when it comes to Analyst. It reflects the rapporteur’s devising peacebuilding responses; humanitarian actors are often left out of interpretation of the discussions and policy discussions at the strategic level, and refugee issues tend to be treated as programmatic or operational concerns. does not necessarily represent the views of all other participants. A separate, but related, problem is the tendency for peacebuilding discus - sions to focus almost exclusively on the country in question; for example, IPI owes a debt of thanks to its many external partners tend to engage with the government and people of a postcon - generous donors, whose support flict country to facilitate peacebuilding, and neglect the needs of refugee- made this publication possible. IPI hosting countries and communities in the region. More attention needs to be would also like to thank Bettina paid to the regional effects of conflict, including political interference from Cenerelli, Carolyn McAskie, and neighboring states, the movements of armed groups, the spread of small arms, James Milner of the Trudeau * The title of this event comes from an article written by 2003 Trudeau Scholar, Dr. James Milner, whose research on Foundation for their efforts in peacebuilding and refugee situations inspired the substance of the meeting. See James Milner, “Refugees and the making this meeting possible. Regional Dynamics of Peacebuilding,” Refugee Survey Quarterly 28, no. 1, UNHCR, 2009. 1 This introduction draws heavily from Gil Loescher, James Milner, Edward Newman, and Gary Troeller, “Protracted Refugees and the Regional Dynamics of Peacebuilding,” Conflict Security and Development 7, no. 3 (2007): 491-501. 2 Ibid., p. 495. 2 MEETING NOTE and the resource burdens created by large-scale peacebuilding success in the country of origin: if displacement of civilian populations. In this the situation at home has stabilized, then more context, one frequently overlooked challenge is that refugees will return. While this perception has its of finding a regional approach in managing the merits, it does not provide a framework for concep - often lengthy and complicated task of supporting tualizing peacebuilding processes in countries of refugees in their host countries, not to mention origin. First, it does not recognize the fact that finding a solution to the plight of refugees. Failure effective reintegration should follow repatriation to to effectively deal with these issues can have long- enable refugees to maximize their potential upon term implications for security and development in return and to contribute to rebuilding their both home and host countries. countries of origin. Second, it fails to take into International assistance to refugee management account that refugees in exile can develop the skills can be seen in three dimensions. The refugees needed to be effective peacebuilders upon repatria - themselves and their needs while in exile are the tion. These two themes were major topics of discus - first dimension. Finding solutions for refugees, sion at the meeting. including facilitating their return to and reintegra - RETURN AND REINTEGRATION tion into their own communities in an appropriate PROCESSES way is the second dimension. The third dimension During the Cold War, the standard solution to the is the fact that for host countries, there is no plight of refugees was return without reintegration. security, development, or humanitarian instrument In the 1990s, however, it became clear that such an to assist communities that are often devastated approach was not feasible. Like today, most socially, economically, and environmentally by the refugees in this period had fled violent conflict. sudden influx of massive numbers of noncitizens. Peace processes in a number of places—Angola, the Likewise, little is understood about how the Balkans, Burundi, Cambodia, Mozambique, presence of refugees can drive host-country Rwanda, and elsewhere—meant that millions of involvement, whether positive or negative, in refugees were returning home to countries that had neighboring conflict situations. This has been a been devastated by civil war. Not only were their major gap in the international toolkit. humanitarian needs substantial, but they also This report explores these issues and summarizes required more sustained support than had the major themes that emerged from the seminar previously been necessary to enable them to get on entitled “Refugees and the Regional Dynamics of with their lives and contribute to building peace in Peacebuilding,” organized by the International countries traumatized by war. The large-scale Peace Institute and the Pierre Elliot Trudeau return of so many refugees could potentially Foundation of Montreal. After this introduction, it undermine the stability of countries of origin, so it is divided into the following sections: (1) refugees was critical that substantive reintegration strategies as peacebuilders; (2) the potential benefits that be adopted. countries can accrue from hosting refugees and the Hence, in recent years, there has been a signifi - strategies they can pursue to support peacebuilding cant focus on both return and reintegration. Cash in countries of origin; (3) case studies of host- payments to returning refugees have provided them country experiences and return and reintegration with greater flexibility in terms of opportunities processes; (4) the challenges of linking peace - they can pursue, as the experiences of Afghanistan, building strategies to refugee situations and Cambodia, Burundi, and Sri Lanka have potential solutions to these challenges; and (5) a demonstrated. Beginning in exile and continuing brief conclusion. The meeting was conducted upon return, efforts have sometimes been made to under the Chatham House Rule. promote reconciliation and co-existence processes, notably in Rwanda and the Balkans in the 1990s. It Refugees as Peacebuilders was also noted during the discussion that effective return and reintegration programs may have to Traditionally the level of refugee repatriation has anticipate the flow of repatriating refugees into been perceived as the measuring stick for 3 urban areas, an occurrence 3 that requires creative which take long periods of time to implement. approaches by the aid community. In general, as UNHCR is known for focusing on the needs of might be expected, reintegration strategies that are individuals, while development programs usually holistic, focusing on a broad array of critical issues concentrate their efforts on particular underre - such as land, human rights, education, livelihoods, sourced and underdeveloped geographic areas. and gender concerns, generally have a better chance Finally, there is the challenge of obtaining transi - of succeeding than reintegration strategies that are tional funding from donors to strengthen the links less comprehensive. between humanitarian assistance and development; In keeping with the goal of effective reintegration, this is frequently difficult because it entails there has been considerable discussion over the past sustaining donor interest and support when the decade of the need to link humanitarian assistance perceived urgency of a refugee situation has 5 to longer-term development. This has been called