Strengthening Refugee Protection in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Towards a Global Compact for Migration: A Development Perspective A Series to Inform the Debate February 2019 Issue No. 7 Strengthening Refugee Protection in Low- and Middle-Income Countries By Susan Fratzke and Camille Le Coz Executive Summary For refugees, the process for seeking and receiving humanitarian protection looks vastly Europe, North America, and elsewhere usually (though not always) assess refugees’ status different depending on the country in which they find themselves. High-income countries in are granted a secure legal status, core social and economic rights, and access to basic assis on an individual basis, in a process based on international law. Typically, recognized refugees struggle to receive legal recognition of their residence, exercise their right to work or own - tance and social services. In many low- and middle-income countries, however, refugees may property, or obtain basic health care or permission to send their children to school. The result isstretches a massive on, gap they between are often the relegated quality of to life a state available of limbo to refugees with no realisticin high-income hope of countries resuming and theanything rest of close the world. to their As predisplacement the duration of refugees’lives, resulting stay in in low- considerable and middle-income wasted human countries poten - tial. Thismajority protection (85 percent) gap between of the world’s countries refugees, is the result and the of threelevel offactors. international First, the resettlement global distri or- bution of responsibility is clearly unequal. Countries in developing regions host the vast the governments of these countries are often unwilling or reluctant to afford refugees the full humanitarian aid these countries receive does not come close to balancing the scales. Second, would encourage refugees to stay permanently, perhaps altering the country’s demographic rights and benefits they are entitled to under international law; they may fear that doing so composition,willing to provide or that refugees refugees with would more take comprehensive scarce jobs and protection, resources they from often the lack local the population. capac They may even see refugees as a potential security threat. Third, even where countries are status with corresponding rights and access to already strained national services is a complex- ity to do so. Creating a fully fledged asylum system that grants refugees a recognized legal Generate buy-in among partners. countries, governments and public institutions and resource-intensive undertaking. lack In themany tries, agencies, and local authorities is knowledge, coordination structures, data man Commitmentcritical to effecting from relevantchange in minis broader- (e.g., schools, employment offices) policies and public services that affect resources, or equipment needed to accomplish- refugees, such as employment, hous agement systems, legal frameworks, financial ing, and the registration of life events - the task. development actors have established systems, then, goes well beyond adopting an (suchrelationships as births with and specific marriages). govern Where Establishingasylum law and high-quality setting up refugee a process protection for apply ment departments or agencies, they may be able to bring the right partners- investment in the governance and service deliv- to the table and persuade them to ingery forcapacity refugee of thestatus. asylum Rather, country—something it requires broad that necessitates both political willingness to - invest on the part of the country’s government give higher priority to refugee-related Investconcerns. in the capacity of systems that benefit both refugees and host and sufficient financial and technical support communities. from the international community. Recent and capabilities required to oper international initiatives, including the Compre- ate an asylum systemMany of are the those systems at hensiveaddress Refugeethe comprehensive Response Framework nature of the and task the the heart of development initiatives- Global Compact on Refugees, are intended to and investments, such as strengthen the valuable role that development part ing education services or enhancing atners—including hand. Moreover, UN these and nationalinitiatives development recognize - agencies, and development banks—can -play in ment actors can thus be instrumental building nations’ capacity to receive and host accessin guiding to the investment justice system. to priorities Develop and- projects that will benefit both refugees refugees. sive experience building up many of the sys Improveand their datahost communities.collection and evalu- Indeed,tems and these capabilities development that are actors critical have to exten refugee- ation. Data on refugee populations - Development actors have made ex protection. Inform Their planning expertise and can needs be leveraged assess- to: intensive most investmentscountries are in patchy recent at decades best. ments. Development actors often have in improving both data collection in- detailed knowledge of the capabilities and capacity gaps across governance in creating the capacity to carry out sectors that affect a country’s ability low- and middle-income countries and coordination between development robustbuilding evaluations this capacity of theirin the projects. develop toand provide humanitarian refugee actorsprotection. on assessing Closer Thement lessons field could learned be used in the to process better of refugees’ conditions and needs before monitor initiatives that aim to boost - designing an intervention could lead refugee protection, with the aim of capturing what works and where fur design, as well as reduce the duplica to better-informed program goals and - - ther improvements are needed. tion of efforts. 2 Strengthening Refugee Protection in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Policy Brief As development actors expand their role in how increased competition in the job market supporting refugee protection, it will be equally important for them to learn from the humanitar gees also frequently face obstacles accessing ian community, particularly regarding how to couldeducation affect and citizens health and services other throughresidents. national Refu- ensure that interventions account for the specif - systems—especially in countries where these new actors into the protection space also creates- in many cases depend entirely on international icthe vulnerabilities risk of duplicating that refugees coordination face. structuresThe entry of services are inadequate even for citizens—and and demands on asylum countries’ adminis assistance. involvement, it will be important to streamline- trations.coordination As development structures and actors ensure deepen that theirown The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugeesdistributing (UNHCR) food rations, and other and humanitarianproviding shelter, - organizations work to address these needs by ershipactor in of expanding them rests development with the asylum support country. for of protracted humanitarian crises increases and Finally, while the World Bank has been a leading education,refugees are and displaced health care. for long But periods,as the number the need to close the gaps in national asylum systems is protection capacity-building, investments by others in the development field have been more time, humanitarian actors have found it increas limited.will need For to collaborativebe expanded toinitiatives a broader such range as the of becoming steadily more pressing. At the same CRRF to live up to their potential, collaboration - ingly difficult to get funding for their response development actors. plans, especially for decades-long crises. ing on how international actors can best support I. Introduction Theserefugees intersecting and the communities challenges call that for host new them, think - assistance to provide more comprehensive sup 1 moving away from the delivery of short-term The number of refugees worldwide is unprec- of the capacity gaps in the asylum systems in - edented—25.4on the arrival of million heightened as of thenumbers end of of 2017. asy port. This policy brief begins with an analysis While much of the focus in recent years has been the procedures by which refugees gain legal border, 85 percent of refugees live in countries- low-status and and middle-income access to socioeconomic countries, includingrights and lum seekers in Europe and at the U.S. southern discrepancies between the rights described in in developing regions. At the top of the list of ref- core services. In doing so, the brief highlights ugee-hosting nations in 2017 were Turkey (3.5 to refugees in practice, especially in states with million), Pakistan (1.4 million), Uganda (1.4 mil- thestrained 1951 resources Refugee Convention and weak administrative and those granted lion), and Lebanon (1.0 million). Some of these states have not ratified the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and do not for- processes. mally recognize refugee rights, leaving refugees tors can support these countries as they move in a legal limbo that can last for years. And even Thetoward brief a morethen examinescomprehensive how development approach to acrefu- in countries that apply the Refugee Convention, administrative limitations often make it difficult cally been involved in building the capacity of - forcurity asylum and helpsseekers protect to receive them refugee from deportation, status. geeasylum protection. systems, Although development

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