Sustainable Refugee Return: Triggers, Constraints, and Lessons on Addressing the Development Challenges of Forced Displacement

Abstract

Refugee return is one of the three so-called durable solutions to refugee displacement envisaged by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the international community. The objective of this study is to identify the conditions that influence the decisions by refugees in protracted displacement regarding return to their home country - when, why, and by whom are decisions on return or other coping strategies made, and how are they affected both by life in exile and by the situation in the country of origin. The primary purpose of the study is to inform the World Bank’s country and regional strategies, as well as its operational approaches on ways to address forced displacement by showing that well thought out development actions that are responsive to the circumstances of specific displacement situations can contribute to the sustainable return and reintegration for displaced. Using a desk study method, the analysis has drawn on the existing literature on refugee decision-making regarding return together with eight country return cases. The study assesses both the conditions of life in asylum and those in the country of origin including activities to support reconstruction and development by governments and development actors including the World Bank, that have influenced whether, and to which extent, refugees were able to return in a durable manner or have adapted in other ways to opportunities and constraints in places of exile and origin. This paper will make the case that to assist return to become sustainable, it is necessary to also address development challenges affecting both the returnees and those who remained, and these cannot be met alone through short-term humanitarian efforts alongside political, social, peace building, and security considerations.