Dr Gil Loescher (a Senior Research Fellow for the Department of Politics and International Relations) has been awarded a grant of $160,000 (£91500) by the Ford Foundation for a project entitled ‘Protracted Refugee Situations in Africa and Asia’, to begin 1 October 2005 and hosted in the Centre for International Studies. Protracted refugee populations constitute over 70 per cent of the world’s refugees and their long-term presence in much of the developing world has come to be seen by many host states in these regions as a source of insecurity. In response to protracted refugee situations host governments have enacted policies of containing refugees in isolated and insecure camps, have prevented the arrival of additional refugees and, in extreme cases, have engaged in forcible repatriation. The aim of the project is to provide a clear analysis of the problem and to develop a policy framework for policymakers and advocacy organizations to deal with this issue that seeks to integrate the resolution of chronic refugee problems with issues of sustainable development, environment, human rights and governance, and security. This will result in drawing up comprehensive plans of action targeted at specific protracted refugee situations in Africa and Asia, and a policy-oriented book which will assist policymakers and advocacy organizations in their efforts to change international policy on protracted refugee situations. Dr Gil Loescher, Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Relations and Research Associate at the Refugee Studies Centre, who will lead the project, said: ‘Humanitarian efforts must be closely linked to political, diplomatic and development initiatives in regions in conflict so that refugee problems do not reoccur. Without strong political and economic support and durable peace agreements there is little immediate prospect of resolving protracted refugee situations.’
