Abstract
In 2015, there were more than 21 million refugees globally; as conflicts continue and globalization expands, it is advantageous for planners to strategically manage population influxes of ill-equipped families. Refugee policy decisions have imperative effects on housing markets, economies, segregation, international relations, and refugees’ resilience. Bound by the 1967 Protocol on the Status of Refugees, every member state is obligated to protect refugees. This paper analyzes the varying conditions of refugees in the top six countries with the highest number of refugees; through a matrix, this paper compares what attributes promote effective refugee plans and which do not. Every conflict scenario is unique, and there are attributes that a refugee plan cannot change (length of conflict, host country’s economy, status of host country’s government, cultural clashes between local population and refugees). However, this paper seeks to empower planners to use policy in ways they can mitigate current and future refugee situations. This analysis concludes that refugee policies work best for the host country and the refugees when refugees: 1) are able to live outside of camps and in cities; 2) can be employed; 3) are distributed to not overwhelm housing/infrastructure; and there are multiple funding sources.
Highlights
Environmental degradation, civil war, natural disaster, territorial disputes, drug wars; refugees’ hopes of fleeing terrible living conditions have been complicated by modern borders and political debates of international responsibility
In 2015, there were more than 21 million refugees globally; as conflicts continue and globalization expands, it is advantageous for planners to strategically manage population influxes of ill-equipped families
Ing to the world’s highest authority on refugees, United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR), in 2015 there were more than 21 million refugees globally (UNHCR, 2015)
Summary
Environmental degradation, civil war, natural disaster, territorial disputes, drug wars; refugees’ hopes of fleeing terrible living conditions have been complicated by modern borders and political debates of international responsibility. The agreed upon expectations in the 1951 Convention on Refugees declares that all member states of the United Nations (UN) must provide the right to liberty and security of person, freedom of movement, right to family life, access to employment, courts, and education This is a non-binding convention, not a binding covenant, which results in states cherry-picking parts of the law to include and exclude (International Justice Center, 2017). These ambiguous “obligations” mean that states have unique methods of refugee planning policy with varying levels of success. The most successful refugee policies structurally, economically, and socially integrate refugees with the local population; such plans are not popular to implement
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