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Hybrid IIED Debate: How can we achieve a world without long-term refugee camps?

The Protracted Displacement in an Urban World (PDUW) team hosted a hybrid IIED debate 27 September 2023. This was an opportunity to hear reflections on the possibility of a world without long-term refugee from thought leaders:

  • Lucy Earle is director of the Human Settlements research group at IIED and lead for the PDUW project
  • Romola Sanyal is professor in the geography and planning department at the London School of Economics
  • Eskinder Negash is president and CEO of the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)
  • Loren Landau is professor of migration and development at the University of Oxford, research professor at the University of the Witwatersrand’s African Centre for Migration and Society, and co-director of the Wits-Oxford Mobility Governance Lab (MGL)

The event was hosted online as well as at The Foundry in the Vauxhall neighbourhood of London.

View the recording on IIED's YouTube channel. 

 

Syrian refugee camp in the outskirts of Athens. Over 6.6 million Syrians were forced to flee their home since 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Julie Ricard on Unsplash)

 

 

 

About the project

This research project is the first large-scale study to compare experiences of protracted displacement in cities and camps – where people have been displaced for at least five years. A mixed method, comparative approach is applied across one camp and one city in four countries with large displaced populations: Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Jordan and Kenya.

Maps showing the urban (in white) and camp (in black) locations where the fieldwork for this research project will be carried out.
Maps showing the urban (in white) and camp (in black) locations where the fieldwork for this research project will be carried out.

The research will provide evidenced analysis of the different outcomes for displaced people in camps and urban areas, focusing specifically on the wellbeing and economies of refugees, returnees and IDPs. 

We have engaged a wide range of municipal stakeholders in the research process by establishing a participatory forum in each city. Local partners convene the forums regularly throughout the project, and will use emerging findings to inform the co-production of solutions to the challenges of urban displacement. With the ultimate goal of improving the self-reliance, wellbeing and productive economies of refugees, returnees and IDPs, the research will assess how cities can foster displaced people’s local inclusion, while benefitting host governments and communities. The research will generate evidence and recommendations for local, national and international policy makers on the pathways towards a more strategic urban response to protracted displacement.