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African
Refugees
Issue Briefs/ Facts and Recommendations
The following issue brief was developed by the Humanitarian Policy
& Practice Committee.
To order a hard copy, or for more information, contact InterAction,
202-667-8227
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The
African continent has been plagued by ongoing civil wars, political
unrest and natural disasters, causing the most horrific refugee
crisis in recent memory. Although peace agreements in such countries
as Angola and Sierra Leone have enabled many African refugees
to repatriate, displacement in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Burundi, and Liberia continues. Moreover, recent crises such as
Côte d'Ivoire are producing hundreds of thousand of refugees.
As a result, millions of Africans remain in dangerous, poorly
resourced refugee camps. Some of these camps are prone to violence,
including murder, arson and rape. Many refugees for whom resettlement
in a third country is the only durable solution languish for years
in the camps. Those who have been fortunate enough to repatriate
often find it difficult to reintegrate in the absence of assistance
that bridges the gap between emergency relief and sustainable
development.
The
Facts
The U.S.
Committee for Refugees estimates that there are more than 3 million
African refugees, out of 13 million refugees worldwide.
According
to the Global IDP Project, over half of the world's internally
displaced persons (IDPs), are Africans. With 13 million IDPs,
Africa produces more internal displacement that the rest of the
world combined.
Programs
assisting African refugees have been particularly affected by
the recent UNHCR funding crisis. Food assistance for African refugees
has been cut in order to meet needs in other emergencies, resulting
in cuts of food rations by as much as 50% in certain African camps.
Food shortages, moreover, increase the likelihood of sexual exploitation
and violence against the most vulnerable populations in refugee
camps.
Nearly 3
million African refugees find themselves in protracted situations,
often living in poorly resourced and dangerous refugee camp settings
with little freedom of movement and few opportunities to work.
As such, the essential economic, social, and psychological needs
of refugees often remain unmet in protracted crises, resulting
in material deprivation, psychosocial problems, and widespread
violence in refugee camps.
According
to the International Rescue Committee, 45 African countries currently
serve as hosts to more than 3 million African refugees. Many of
these host countries are already impoverished nations. The challenges
posed by long-term refugee populations only exacerbate the problems
of underdevelopment, widespread poverty, and insecurity.
Due to worsening
security conditions, many refugees endure human rights abuses,
including rape, arbitrary arrest, detention, the burning of their
homes and looting of their property. In addition, humanitarian
workers are often at risk. The recent deaths of aid workers in
Liberia, Burundi, and Uganda highlight the increasingly dangerous
nature of humanitarian assistance.
Recommendations
Donor governments
should respond generously to the urgent UNHCR/WFP appeals to address
food shortages among African refugee populations and mechanism
should be put into place to better ensure minimum standards are
met in the provision of food assistance to refugee populations.
The U.S.
government should take the lead in providing adequate support
for improving assistance and protection for refugees and humanitarian
personnel.
The U.S.
government should take a leading role in search of durable solutions
to the refugee crisis in Africa, including increasing the number
of African refuges for resettlement to the United States, and
should provide appropriate development assistance so that refugee
repatriations in post-conflict situations are sustainable.
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