Conflict-induced Displacement Research Articles

Conflict-Induced Displacement and Food Insecurity: The Case Of Burkina Faso As Sahel’s Growing Epicenter of Conflict

This article discusses how the military conflict in Burkina Faso affects food insecurity and the welfare of its people. This issue poses a threat to its citizens' ability to achieve human security, which focuses on welfare and basic human rights, including the availability and access to adequate food. This article is qualitative research, and the analysis of this phenomenon comes from reference articles, books, news, reports, and official documents. The theoretical approach used is related to Conflict-Induced Displacement, Human Security, and the four main dimensions of Food Security, namely food availability, access, utilization, stability, and displacement of communities due to conflict. The results of the analysis show that the geographic location of the country of Burkina Faso, which is confined between the West African mainland, makes it vulnerable to military conflict affiliated with Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and is now the center of conflict in the Sahel region. The author also found out that the main reason for ongoing hunger and malnutrition in Burkina Faso is because its people were forced to be displaced due to armed conflict in the region.

Armed Conflict-induced Displacement and Human Trafficking in the Sahel: Organised crime, vulnerabilities, and the accountability of non-state armed groups

Although organised criminal networks and non-state armed groups (NSAGs) have historically exploited conflict situations to commit various crimes, the extent of human trafficking by these entities in the Sahel has barely been interrogated in academic literature. In principle, while states have an obligation to criminalise trafficking in persons, problems arise where the state has lost parts of its territory to NSAGs or is facing ongoing conflicts with such groups. Boko Haram, for instance, controlled a large swath of territory in Northeast Nigeria from 2009 to 2015, with evidence of human trafficking. Therefore, this paper examines two specific aspects of human trafficking in the Sahel conflicts: trafficking by organised criminals and trafficking by NSAGs, especially terrorist organisations. It argues that while domestic laws may be useful in combating trafficking linked to organised criminal networks, the traditional state-centric approach to human rights protection makes human trafficking governance more complicated where NSAGs are involved, especially where they exercise territorial control. The paper unpacks these complexities and highlights the deficits in existing international law treaties. It argues that customary international law could provide a solution to the anti-trafficking governance challenge in the Sahel and makes a case for the adoption of an anti-trafficking Deed of Commitment within the Geneva Call mechanism.

International Conflict-Induced Displacement and Civilian Problems: A Study of the Balakot Sector of Jammu and Kashmir

International Conflict-Induced Displacement and Civilian Problems: A Study of the Balakot Sector of Jammu and Kashmir

The making of ‘Mary Poppins’ migrants: analysing German discourse on displaced Ukrainians 2022–23 through fictional film

ABSTRACTBuilding on insights from Migration Studies and International Relations, we investigate constructions of Ukrainians who arrived in Germany due to conflict-induced displacement during the first year of the Russian-Ukraine war. To do so, we analysed reporting on Ukrainian women in two German major weekly news outlets (Der Spiegel and Die Zeit). Here we take a unique approach – drawing on key points of, and illustrative quotes from, that analysis, and reading them alongside the fictional film Mary Poppins. Doing so helps us understand German discourse around displaced Ukrainians. Specifically, our unique reading of refugeehood and deservingness helps us demonstrate how familiar, yet fictional, stories can be deployed to critically interrogate and better understand real-world extraordinary political responses towards refugees. Overall, we suggest that by analysing representations of Ukrainians through this fictional lens, we contribute to denaturalising ‘common knowledge’ about displaced people often taken for granted in public discourse and public policy.

The Conflict, Climate Change, and Displacement Nexus Revisited: The Protracted Rohingya Refugee Crisis in Bangladesh

This article examines the relationships between conflict, climate change, and disaster in forced displacement contexts. We present these nexus dynamics through the case of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who are exposed to climatic hazards and other vulnerabilities that threaten their lives and livelihoods. Having fled persecution by the Myanmar military, Rohingya refugees face a range of conflict- and climate-related risks, both in the overcrowded and disaster-prone camps in Cox's Bazar and on the island of Bhasan Char where Bangladeshi authorities have relocated tens of thousands of people. The protracted refugee crisis has exacerbated social tensions between the Rohingya and host communities; limited access to resources and exposure to significant hazards that exacerbate conflict-induced displacement challenges. This paper contributes to the nascent literature on the region's conflict, climate change, and disaster displacement nexus by examining how cascading risks and state fragility contribute to increased instability. The article demonstrates the need for a more nuanced understanding of how conflict-induced displacement leads to new threats and vulnerabilities in hazard-prone environments.

How Do Consociations Craft Asylum Policy? Lebanon’s Response to Conflict-Induced Displacement as an Exploratory Case

Abstract How do consociations craft their asylum policy, and how do they deal with the rights of “others”? Research has started to explore the relationship between consociational governance and non-ethnic or non-sectarian social groups. Yet, we still know little about how consociations interact with refugee flight on the one hand, and with the ethics of refugee protection on the other. As a form of thick institutional complexity, consociationalism risks limiting the ability of the state to respond to refugee displacement in a manner that is timely, effective, and which respects the rights and dignity of displaced individuals. We draw on Lebanon’s response to the arrival of some 1.5 million displaced individuals in the country since the start of Syria’s lethal conflict in 2011 as an exploratory case study that seeks to further knowledge on how consociations craft and implement their asylum policy. Specifically, we consider three mechanisms of immobilism that constrain the crafting of unified, responsive, and inclusive asylum policy and that are posed by the consociational state apparatus itself: ethnicization/sectarianization, procrastination, and fragmentation. Building on Lebanon’s patterns of refugee policymaking, we show how these mechanisms mutually reinforce one another, backfiring on policy congruence as well as refugee rights and protection.

The green bus and the viapolitics of intra-state deportations in Syria

ABSTRACT Scholarship on conflict-induced displacement predominantly focuses on movement that entails crossing state borders from the so-called south to the so-called north. This paper addresses internal displacement within Syria placing the displacement vehicle, the Green Bus, at the core of the inquiry. It probes a form of internal displacement that occurs following the cessation of openly violent conflict through ‘reconciliations’ reached between main conflict stakeholders. The paper investigates the busing of hundreds of thousands of Syrians from the until then opposition-held territories to the northwest of the country between 2014 and 2018 in what resembles deportations, albeit intra-state. Based on the author’s work in the humanitarian response to the Syrian crisis between 2016 and 2019, followed with academic research on internal displacement, this paper illustrates the bus as a site of power, contestation, and resistance to the bussed and the bussers. It also demonstrates the complexities and [via]variations of moving people in a complex and heterogenous conflict setting. The paper contributes to debates on internal displacement, viapolitics, and intra-state deportation via centering the experience of busing in its linguistic context and referring to the abundant displaced-produced knowledge shared on various online outlets.

The Juba Peace Agreement and the Protection of Displaced Persons: Between Regional Migratory Routes and IDP Camps

A major strength of the historic Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) lies in its specific provisions relating to the displacement crisis in Sudan, particularly its commitment to tackling both its root causes and consequences. Nevertheless, even before the JPA was signed, there were questions from various stakeholders, including displaced persons, protesting their exclusion from the negotiations. This article examines the peace deal’s provisions relating to displaced persons, looking at the prospects, expected outcomes, gaps and challenges, and focusing on Darfur, a region with a long history of conflict-induced displacement. Examining the JPA within the framework of the new wars and new humanitarianism, it argues that for the agreement to achieve its stated goals, the issue of displacement must remain front and center throughout the implementation phase. Notably, the comprehensive character of the JPA, coupled with the multifaceted and “glocalized” nature of the crisis in Sudan, presents an ideal context for the Sudanese state and its international partners to work collaboratively to operationalize the much-vaunted security-humanitarian-development nexus approach, through which the plight of displaced persons can be effectively addressed.

Post conflict-induced displacement: Human security challenges of internally displaced persons in Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfinne, Ethiopia

Post conflict-induced displacement: Human security challenges of internally displaced persons in Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfinne, Ethiopia

Cash-like vouchers improve psychological well-being of vulnerable and displaced persons fleeing armed conflict.

The psychological burden of conflict-induced displacement is severe. Currently, there are 80 million displaced persons around the world, and their number is expected to increase in upcoming decades. Yet, few studies have systematically assessed the effectiveness of programs that assist displaced persons, especially in settings of extreme vulnerability. We focus on eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where myriad local armed conflicts have driven cycles of displacement for over 20 years. We conducted a within-village randomized field experiment with 976 households, across 25 villages, as part of the United Nations' Rapid Response to Population Movements program. The program provided humanitarian relief to over a million people each year, including vouchers for essential nonfood items, such as pots, pans, cloth, and mattresses. The vouchers led to large improvements in psychological well-being: a 0.32 standard deviation unit (SDU) improvement at 6 weeks, and a 0.18 SDU improvement at 1 year. There is no evidence that the program undermined social cohesion within the village, which alleviates worries related to programs that target some community members but not others. Finally, there was no improvement in child health.

“Not the time for fighting but for taking care of each other”: Portrayals of the Second World War in Two Asian-American Plays

Most of humanity’s recorded history has been indelibly marked by armed conflicts in various places around the world, yet the scale and effect of the two world wars in the first half of the twentieth century were unprecedented. Both wars remapped the geography, politics, economies, and consciousness of prior realities, and echoed deafeningly throughout the modern works of literature of diverse nations. Anglophone literature overtly portrays wartime atrocities and human ordeals, and concurrently raises awareness of, and agitates against, the savagery of warfare. It does so through its poignant Trench Poetry, the anti-war novels of the Lost Generation, dramas of the Holocaust, and theater of genocide, among others. Another, relatively recent, a subgenre of Anglophone drama also addresses the subject of armed conflicts and their consequences, although its critics and reviewers mostly focus on identity politics, minority and ethnic studies, and the mix of ideas and images that are features of Asian-American theater. Within it researchers can find arresting examples of how an English-speaking theater represents conflict-induced displacement and migration and other repercussions of the Second World War, while dealing with one of the most discomfiting events in recent US history. This paper examines Wakako Yamauchi’s representation of the state-controlled relocation of Asian-American citizens and their consequent experiences, in her play 12-1-A; and Velina Hasu Houston’s portrayal of the Second World War’s ideological and socio-economic repercussions in the Japanese community, in Asa Ga Kimashita (Morning Has Broken).

Beyond return and resettlement: The impact of exposure and interactions on the post-conflict development of North Waziristan

AbstractThis article shares empirical data about the returned and resettled natives and communities of North Waziristan Tribal District in Pakistan, which are undergoing the processes of post-conflict reconstruction and development. In order to present an analysis of the impact of prolonged conflict-induced displacement on the spatially excluded (or bounded) communities of North Waziristan, an inductive approach utilising qualitative methods and semi-structured interviews has been adopted to establish detailed accounts of the ‘networks of interactions’ and ‘displacement-induced exposure’. The findings further suggest that these interactions and networks are transcending and redefining the margins (viz. material space), and the social space of North Waziristan since the natives have expressed growing inclinations towards movement in mainstream Pakistan. The aforementioned arguments establish new perspectives—admittedly controversial—where prolonged conflict-induced displacement has attributed to unintended ‘development’ for spatially excluded communities. Essentially, this article argues that the subject of displacement and post-conflict societies deserves further scrutiny beyond resettlement and return.

The logics of war and food (in)security

Many of today's food crises are linked to war and violent conflicts. This paper elaborates four logics of war that have an impact on food insecurity: a) destruction; b) conflict-induced displacement; c) food control; d) hunger as a “weapon of war”. These logics explain why governments or belligerents are often unable or unwilling to respond to food crises, and why humanitarian assistance faces challenges in reaching people in need, while simultaneously avoiding exacerbating conflict. To mitigate future food crises, this article suggests a) to respect food as a human right, b) to overcome the silo-thinking between aid organizations, c) to integrate local capacities, and d) to enhance early action.

Approaches to Strengthen the Social Cohesion between Displaced and Host Communities

A cohesive society is not only characterised by the availability of basic services and facilities, but also promotes economic equality and inclusion, democracy, and social solidarity. Forced displacement due to disasters and conflict constantly disrupt the path to a sustainable and cohesive society. Displaced communities often struggle with a lack of access to livelihood and a lack of financial independence and social and family stability. With these challenges, a lack of provision of basic services and facilities will create a competition for housing, health, and education between the displaced and host communities. Additionally, the economic competition for jobs and the role of international aid in terms of fairness create social tension between the displaced and the host. Likewise, multiple aspects weaken the social cohesion between displaced and host communities. Within this context, we investigated approaches to enhance social cohesion following disaster-induced and conflict-induced displacement. With the identification of this research need, the research team of the project titled REGARD (REbuild-inG AfteR Displacement) conducted 47 in-depth interviews in four partner countries (U.K., Sweden, Estonia, and Sri Lanka) with community representatives, social support networks, agency networks, officials, etc. Moreover, focus group discussions were conducted with community members in Sri Lanka. The collected data were analysed through a qualitative data analysis procedure. The findings present eight approaches to strengthen the social cohesion between displaced and host communities. These eight approaches include the adequate provision of basic services and facilities without limiting the capacity of the host, support services aimed at local integration, economic integration between the displaced and host, and social cohesion through the built environment.

The right to water for internally displaced persons in the Sahel region

AbstractThe number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) has drastically increased over the last five years in the countries of the Sahel region. This situation is linked to the rise of countless armed groups, especially in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. The present paper aims to assess the existence and contours of a right to water for IDPs in the Sahel region. In doing so, it examines international humanitarian law and other international law regimes to determine the legal foundations that protect and guarantee IDPs’ right to water. The contribution provides the contextual background of armed conflict-induced displacement in the Sahel region, and demonstrates the existence of a right to water for IDPs in the Sahel countries. This right derives not only from international humanitarian law but also from other complementary international rules applicable even in conflict situations. The paper finally discusses and recommends legal and practical ways in which IDPs’ right to water can be better realized in the current context of the Sahel region.

Precarious (Dis)Placement: Temporality and the Legal Rewriting of Refugee Protection in Denmark

This article addresses the legal reconfigurations of refuge and its consequences for people displaced by war and state violence. Within Western countries signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, refugee protection has traditionally served as a solution to conflict-induced displacement by offering a path to permanent residence and citizenship. Yet, in the wake of recent global “refugee crises,” several countries have introduced new refugee protection statuses that only allow refugees to stay temporarily. In this article, I focus on one such intervention in Denmark introduced in the fall of 2014, which targets Syrian refugees. Through a feminist geo-legal analysis of this statute and surrounding policy documents, I illustrate how the Danish state has mobilized subtle legal interventions to transform the meaning and character of refugee protection. By differentially classifying groups of refugees according to new calculations of threat and risk, I show how these maneuverings work to deny refugees basic rights and make them subject to intimidation, surveillance, and deportation. I argue that this new statute functions as a legal mechanism of sociospatial b/ordering that produces a series of displacements and limits refugees’ access to effective protection under the 1951 Convention. In doing so, I advance critical discussions on temporary protection status, displacement, and refuge.

Association of Conflict-Affected Environment on Ethiopian Students' Mental Health and Its Correlates During COVID-19 Era.

BackgroundEthiopia has seen the largest number of conflict-induced displacement. Mental disturbance has been identified as a major public health concern among conflict-affected people, including students. Due to the effect of continuous unfold of the COVID-19 epidemic in the conflicted affected setting, the mental health problem tends to be increased. This creates a double burden for students from conflict affected setting after school re-opening. As a result, the goal of this research was to evaluate the mental health impact and its correlates in students from conflict affected setting, Ethiopia.ObjectiveTo assess the association of conflict-affected environment on Ethiopian students’ mental health and its correlates during COVID-19 era.MethodsFrom April 1 to 30, 2021, an institutional-based cross-sectional survey was undertaken. A total sample of 795 students were participated through a systematic random sampling technique. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale was used to assess mental distress (K10). The correlation between outcome and explanatory variables was investigated using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.ResultsA total of 795 people were examined, with a 100% response rate. Mental distress was reported about 59.4% with a 95% CI of 57% to 62.9%. Conflicted related sexual abuse (AOR = 4.1, 95% CI 2.37 to 6.94), witnessed shooting (AOR = 3.49, 95% CI 2.7 to 5.89), threat to security and safety (AOR = 2.23, 95% CI 1.29 to 3.87), being female (AOR = 3.01, 95% CI 1.61 to 5.44), and poor academic performance (AOR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.08 to 4.08) were found to be substantially correlated.ConclusionStudents from conflict-affected areas are at high risk of mental distress. Therefore, the ministry of health, ministry of education of Ethiopia and humanitarian organizations should work collaboratively in providing consistent school-based psychosocial support and appropriate intervention for students.

Conflict-induced displacement: lesson for the humanitarian community from the experiences of hosted Maranao IDPs in Southern Philippines

ABSTRACT The article examined the perceptions among hosted internally displaced persons (IDPs) of the hosting environment as a social context in which they negotiate their postdisplacement lives. The paper’s interest is to identify the emerging social characteristics within these “humanitarian” arrangements and argue that the overall perceived quality of the accommodation is predicated on the socio-economic circumstances of the entire accommodating household. The findings were drawn from face-to-face interviews with 20 ethnic Maranao Filipino Muslims who experienced home-based accommodation courtesy of their kin. Thematic analysis on the narratives revealed three major themes; reasons for choosing home-based accommodation, the burden of shame in being hosted, and the perceptions of animosity held by members of the IDP family. It is reported that while initiative to accommodate comes from the host families themselves, hostile behavior against their IDP relatives may surface later on. This situation may exacerbate the already difficult situations IDPs experience. Without proper orientation and understanding, the study suggests that hosting can become an unpromising arrangement over time and may not form part of durable solutions for the IDPs.

Conflict versus Disaster-induced Displacement: Similar or Distinct Implications for Security?

ABSTRACT Recent research has found evidence for a linkage between conflict induced-displacement and violence. Yet, displacement is also caused by natural disasters, whose implications for security have until now not received much attention. Drawing on spatial data on flood-induced disasters and forced migration in Africa, we investigate the impact of migration caused by natural disasters on social conflict. We show that disaster-induced displacement differs from conflict-induced displacement and raises distinct security implications. We also consider if areas simultaneously affected by conflict and disaster-induced migration are particularly at risk of conflict. The results suggest that there is no such amplifying effect.

Armed conflict and cross-border asymmetries in urban development: A contextualized spatial analysis of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gisenyi, Rwanda

Armed conflicts often cause significant structural disturbance and modification to urban areas. These manifest as changes to the built environment either through destruction and diminution of built area or through an increase in extent and the number of buildings. The magnitude of conflict-induced displacement and migration are dependent upon a range of socio-political factors, resulting in variabilities in conflict-induced urban growth. Border cities provide a valuable setting to compare these variations, as they share geographical and cultural similarities, enabling comparative analysis of the conditions leading to divergent trajectories. This study examines the effects of armed inter- and intra-state conflict on urban spatial development both within and across national borders, focusing on the proximal cities of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Gisenyi, Rwanda, between 1989 and 2014 (due to the availability of cloud-free satellite imagery). We conducted a visual analysis of high- to very high-resolution satellite imagery to map spatial development (both urban extent and individual buildings) for both cities. Based on this analysis, we then conducted site visits and interviews, through which underlying drivers of urban development pathways were identified and initial steps were made to disentangle conflict- and non-conflict drivers, as not all urban changes and differences are related to the presence or absence of armed conflict. These are situated in different phases of armed conflict in the region, the governance of their repercussions (or lack thereof), and the complex interdependencies between the two cities. Our analysis revealed remarkable differences in spatial development and urban morphology. While Goma’s urban area expands and densifies, Gisenyi's spatial extent remains relatively stable. Stakeholders on the ground identified armed conflict, linked population flows including internal and cross-border forced displacements, as well as differences in handling conflict-repercussions between the states as underlying drivers of the observed spatial changes. This study thus provides detailed evidence on the processes and drivers implicit in urban development and change in cross-border cities, their similarities, differences, and interdependencies, with a particular focus on armed conflicts’ domestic and cross-border effects.