Practical Politics for Protracted Refugee Situations
Recently, I had the opportunity to conduct research in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. While many know about the plight of the impoverished in Bangladesh, the presence of the Rohingya refugees has received much less attention. The Rohingya are a minority Muslim ethnic group from the Rakhine state of Myanmar, which borders Bangladesh. Although their roots in Myanmar date back several centuries, the Government of Myanmar does not recognize them as citizens, denying them basic human rights and engaging in systemic persecution of the Rohingya. However, the plight of the Rohingya being “warehoused” in refugee camps in Bangladesh for over 17 years is a common outcome for refugees from protracted conflicts. Around the world there are approximately eight million refugees in similar situations of prolonged displacement. Termed “protracted refugee situations,” prolonged displacement has many negative effects on refugees, host countries, and on the stability of the region.
Two weeks ago, Gary Troeller, former senior executives with the Office for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, unveiled a new book addressing these challenges. Although much has been written about displacement, forced migration, and the practice of “warehousing,” this book is unique in its approach. Instead of looking at protracted refugee situations from an academic perspective, the chapters in the book focus on practical politics, addressing these challenges for an audience of policy-makers. By linking protracted refugee situations to human security, and recognizing the lack of political will, the authors come to the conclusion that to address these issues in an effective way there “needs to be political solutions to political problems.”
For the global population affected by the 33 protracted refugee situations around the world, policy-makers can see throughout the book that these situations are the result of failed states and political impasses from political problems. One of the preliminary steps to addressing this issue the process of sensitization, and Gary Troeller’s book aptly titled, Protracted Refugee Situations, and other documents like the High Commisioner’s Dialogue on Protracted Situations are fitting starting points.