ReliefWeb

Donor countries are losing interest in aid for refugees, but the conflicts that force their movement continue.

By Gaim Kibreab

Permanent solutions to the refugee problem have historically been presented as a choice between integration in first countries of asylum, repatriation to the refugee's country of origin when their safety can be guaranteed, or resettlement in third OECD countries. This paradigm was developed during the Cold War period, when the world was divided into two blocks, and sovereignty was conceived as a sacrosanct principle in which interference in the internal affairs of states was proscribed. This was even true in countries where citizens were treated with contempt by their own governments. As a result, the possibility of the UN or member states to intervene in order to avert the crises which drive large-scale displacement did not exist. International and regional responses to refugees were therefore reactive: intervention only occurred when asylum-seekers crossed an international border to seek protection. The large majority of refugees stayed in first countries of asylum.

Read the full article on Think Africa Press