The multiple contemporary crises that have led to protracted displacement of about 16 million people show not only the limits of a tight definition of the legal notion of ‘refugee’ but also highlight the gaps in international protection frameworks. TRAFIG working paper No. 3 explores the governance of protracted displacement across global, regional and domestic levels, focussing on Europe, East Africa and the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
In TRAFIG working paper No. 3, 18 researchers, working together in the context of the EU-funded project “Transnational Figurations of Displacement” (TRAFIG), analyse the legislative and policy frameworks of protection and how they contribute to resolving or creating protracted displacement. The authors assess how these frameworks contribute to relevant policy developments and identify engagement trends and (unintended) effects. Their insights are based on in-depth policy analyses of regional and national protection frameworks, including eight different countries that host large groups of displaced people and are the focus of the TRAFIG project: Greece, Germany and Italy in Europe; Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Tanzania in Africa; and Jordan and Pakistan in Asia.
In their key messages, the authors highlight the need for stronger stakeholder collaboration, the integration of global and local policies and an enhanced focus on IDPs. They also advocate for investment in progressive regional policies, redesign of EU policies to avoid the promotion of protracted displacement and greater ownership of processes and resources. Last but not least, TRAFIG working paper No. 3 addresses de-politicisation of displacement policies, an alignment of durable solutions with development-oriented interventions and a realisation of the development potential of refugee integration. The authors also focus on mobility and translocal connectivity as a durable solution to protracted displacement.
The two-pager TRAFIG practice note No. 3 “Bridging the gaps: Governance of protracted displacement across global, regional and national levels” complements the working paper and stresses that it is crucial to enable displaced people to access rights as the “(r)ecognition of refugees’ rights has the potential to strengthen their contribution to the social and economic life of the country of reception and directly addresses the protracted nature of their displacement”.
You will find TRAFIG working paper No. 3 “Governing protracted displacement—An analysis across global, regional and domestic contexts” as PDF here
and
TRAFIG practice note No. 3 “Bridging the gaps: Governance of protracted displacement across global, regional and national levels” as PDF here.
TRAFIG working paper No 3 and practice note No. 3 were published in the framework of the EU-funded Horizon 2020 research project “Transnational Figurations of Displacement” (TRAFIG) which investigates long-lasting displacement situations at multiple sites in Asia, Africa and Europe and analyses options to improve displaced people’s lives. To read more about the EU-funded Horizon 2020 project TRAFIG, click here.
Source: Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC), 19 February 2020