Preamble

Human and refugee rights instruments place a shared onus of responsibility on all actors involved in refugee issues—host governments, donor governments, international organizations, local communities, and refugees themselves. While these actors generally make a good faith effort to carry out these responsibilities, there of course remains room for improvement. Identifying potential improvements was the task of our economic integration discussion group of the conference on "Refugee Protection in Africa: How to Ensure Security and Development for Refugees and Hosts."

The discussion noted that refugees are human beings endowed with dignity and that their welfare and recovery in exile should be in line with international human rights instruments that have set standards that must be the basis for practices and programs for refugee protection.

A combination of factors—from insufficient responsibility sharing to massive refugee caseloads to the sometime abuse of asylum by refugees—have put severe stress on refugee protection in Africa and contributed to "hospitality fatigue."

Political leadership was seen as a key factor, for better or for worse. While some leaders in Africa have set a tone of hospitality and welcome, others have used refugees for their own purposes, either as targets of xenophobia or illegally as voters.

It was recognized that both host government policies and general economic conditions influence the degree of economic integration, and our discussion had an element of comparison, particularly between East and West Africa.

It is important when discussing refugees and host communities to recognize that local citizens themselves face formidable difficulties of poverty and underdevelopment, realities that must be addressed in programming for refugees.

Principle Policy Recommendations

1. Much evidence was cited of cases where refugees contributed positively and dramatically to growth in the local economy—including a new initiative in Zambia that was reported by conference participants—though this was seen as an area needing further empirical study.

2. A widening gap between resources and needs as well as the rigid lines some key donors draw between humanitarian relief and long-term development were noted as key factors in refugees' cycle of dependence on relief aid. This suggests the need to align programs for refugees with other initiatives such as the Millennium Development Goals and the World Bank's poverty reduction program.

3. It was noted that restricting refugees to camps or other defined areas often adversely affects the well-being of refugees, though some governments find it appropriate to manage their large caseloads this way. This was a point of some contention on which it was not possible to reach consensus, though it was hoped that it would be a subject for further active debate.

4. Even when camps or settlements are deemed necessary by host governments, there are important policy decisions that affect refugees' economic participation; for example, the ability to seek employment or even bring products to market.

5. Participants discussed the need to continue to search for durable solutions since refugees often remain in asylum in host countries for many years without hope of return. In that respect, it was noted, for example, that different countries have different naturalization processes and that availability of information will help determine to what extent this is truly an option for refugees.

6. The objective for the collective effort of all actors involved in refugee protection should be to ensure sustainable, self-reliant livelihoods for refugees through strategies, including national development planning, that also support the long-term development needs of the local areas in which refugees live.

This Policy Bulletin summarizes the discussions of the economic integration working group of the Entebbe conference as interpreted by the organizers. It is a summary rather than an agreed statement, and therefore it should not be assumed that every participant subscribes to all recommendations, observations, and conclusions.