Issue 33 – to be published in June 2009 – will include a feature section on:

Protracted displacement situations

Deadline for submission of articles: 18 January 2009

Some two-thirds of refugees in the world today are not in emergency situations but are trapped in protracted displacement. This is probably equally true for internally displaced people. These situations – characterised by long periods of exile and separation from home, stretching into decades for some groups – are found in most regions of the world and in a range of environments, including camps, settlements and urban contexts. People in these situations often face a range of challenges, including restrictions on freedom of movement, dwindling assistance and challenges to their physical and psychological well-being. Protracted displacement situations also pose a range of challenges for the states where they occur, host states, states in the region and a number of other actors, organisations and agencies.

Following the High Commissioner For Refugees’ Dialogue on Protection Challenges in December 2008 which will focus specifically on the challenge of protracted displacement situations, and a meeting in 2009 of the African Union that will take up the same subject, this issue of FMR seeks to provide a forum for practitioners, advocates, policy makers and researchers who are working in and researching protracted displacement situations to share experiences, debate perspectives and offer recommendations.

In particular, the FMR Editors are looking for practice-oriented submissions, reflecting a diverse range of opinions, which address questions such as the following:

• What is the nature and scope of protracted refugee situations and protracted IDP situations?

• Is UNHCR’s current definition – 25,000 people for 5 years or more – adequate?

• Are displacement situations becoming more protracted and, if so, why? How is the challenge of protracted refugee situations linked to other challenges of fragile states and peace building, security, development and changes in asylum policies?

• What is the impact of prolonged displacement on people in that situation? Are these challenges more acute for certain groups, such as women, children born into these situations or the elderly? How do the challenges change as the years pass? 

• What coping mechanisms do individuals or groups of displaced people employ? What initiatives have enhanced their livelihoods and self-reliance?

• Does the prolonged presence of forced migrants bring burdens or benefits for host communities, or both?

• How have the responses of host states either facilitated or frustrated efforts to find solutions? How has the existence of numbers of people in prolonged internal displacement affected the resolution of the situations that forced them into displacement? What role do processes of  Truth, Justice and Reparation play?

• How do the challenges of protracted displacement situations affect the work of agencies and organisations working in these situations? Do the approaches of humanitarian agencies contribute to the protractedness of these situations or to their resolution?

• How have protracted displacement situations been resolved in the past and what lessons do these examples hold for today? What are the short, medium and long-term components of a solution for protracted displacement situations? What role is there for the international community?

• In the case of protracted refugee situations, how can repatriation and resettlement programmes be used to help unblock protracted refugee situations? Are other potential solutions, such as legalised migration or self-reliance strategies, viable options? Can the experience of prolonged exile contribute to peace building and reconstruction in the country of origin?

• How do solutions to protracted displacement situations relate to broader peace and security, development and human rights initiatives in the region? How can changes in other sectors be used to help find solutions for protracted displacement situations?

• How can the recent interest in protracted refugee situations be sustained and extended to include protracted situations of internal displacement? What lessons can be learned to help prevent future such situations?

• How should displaced people and their interests be included in discussions? How should individual choice be integrated into the solutions framework?

Deadline for submission of articles: 18 January 2009
Maximum length: 2,500 words.

We are particularly keen to reflect the experiences and knowledge of communities and individuals directly affected by protracted displacement.

Please email the Editors at fmr@qeh.ox.ac.uk if you are interested in contributing or have suggestions of colleagues or community representatives who may wish to contribute.

Please consider writing for us even if you have not written an article before. We would be happy to work with you to develop an article about your experience.

We encourage readers to send us written contributions on any aspect of contemporary forced migration. Each issue of FMR has a feature theme but at least a third of each issue is set aside for ‘non-theme’ articles.

If you are planning to write, we would be grateful if you would take note of our Guidelines for Contributors at: www.fmreview.org/writing.htm. 

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