http://ourworld.unu.edu/en/understanding-disaster-related-displacement-from-the-horn-of-africa
Understanding Disaster-Related Displacement from the Horn of Africa
HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS : Africa, Agriculture, Climate Change, Conflict, Disa,
Food Security, Human Security, Vulnerabilities
2014*05*27 Carol Smith United Nations University
Displaced Somalis. Photo: UN Photo/Tobin Jones. Creative Commons BY-NC-ND
(cropped).
What was the reason for your last move? From 2008 to 2012, around 144
million people around the world were forced from their homes by natural
disasters. In 2012 alone, an estimated 32 million people were displaced.
Most of these displacements were triggered by weather-related hazards like
floods, storms and wildfires. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people
were forced to move due to slow-onset disasters like droughts.
Most of these people are known as "internally displaced persons" because
they settle elsewhere within their countries. However, many also flee
across borders to other countries. In recent years, a major drought
developed into famine in the Horn of Africa and throughout 2011 and 2012,
large numbers fled -- in particular Somalis and Ethiopians -- in search of
assistance and protection. The majority went to Kenya or Yemen; some
travelled to more-distant countries like Egypt. And now, recent reports say
failing rains, severe malnourishment, enduring conflict and poor sanitation
mean Somalia is again facing a humanitarian crisis, with 50,000 children
"at death's door" and 2.9 million Somalis at risk of hunger.
Currently, disaster survivors who cross borders are in a type of vulnerable
limbo because, to date, no instruments explicitly provide entry, status and
rights to individuals on the basis of natural hazard-related disasters.
Existing refugee laws and conventions, like the 1951 Refugee Convention, do
not legally consider such displaced people as refugees because they are not
necessarily "being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality,
membership of a particular social group or political opinion".
"Individuals leave for another country for a variety of reasons, but in
many cases the driving factor is related to the loss and deterioration of
livelihood. Induced by weather-related events, factors such as destruction
of crops or flooding motivate people to cross borders," says Dr. Tamer
Afifi of the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human
Security (UNU-EHS) who co-authored a new report with the Norwegian Refugee
Council (NRC) that is shining light on how this complex and urgent issue is
evolving in the Horn of Africa.
The Horn of Africa is a region in Northeast Africa that includes Eritrea,
Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia and has a population of 103 million people.
As the poorest region in Africa, most countries here already suffer from
widespread poverty, political tensions and violent conflict and thus face a
terrible struggle when hit by sudden and slow onset disasters like floods
and drought. These disasters are especially destructive here because many
inhabitants are pastoralists and small scale farmers with climate-sensitive
livelihoods and little education.
The new report, "Disaster-Related Displacement from the Horn of Africa",
was launched at the Nansen Initiative Greater Horn of Africa Regional
Consultation meeting in Nairobi last week. Initiated in October 2012 by the
Swiss and Norwegian governments, the Nansen Initiative is a state-led,
bottom-up consultative process for building consensus on the development of
a protection agenda addressing the needs of people displaced across
international borders by natural hazards, including the effects of climate
change.
The UNU-EHS/NRC research analyzed the policy and legal options in
cross-border, disaster-related displacement, including both formal laws and
policies and effective socio-legal issues in the Horn of Africa, Kenya, the
Middle East and North Africa, with a particular focus on displaced Somalis
and Ethiopians. Additional observations emerged from the case studies in
Kenya, Egypt and Yemen. The very thorough report thus explores protection
from displacement, protection during displacement and durable solutions to
displacement.
The report comes at a crucial time given the 2013 commitment by the UN High
Level Dialogue on International Migration to collect existing principles
and practices in an organized operational framework for providing
protection and assistance to migrants in crises, including in conflict and
disaster situations.
"As extreme weather increases in intensity thousands are at risk of being
displaced. Many of the displaced receive some assistance, but the support
varies. There is a need for more predictive protection and assistance. We
must start in the hardest affected regions," said Nina M. Birkeland of the
Norwegian Refugee Council, a contributor to the report.
Here is a summary of the report's general findings and a summary of the
case studies.
Most Somalis and Ethiopians displaced to Kenya, Egypt and Yemen were
influenced in their cross-border movement by natural hazard-related
disasters, which interacted with additional social and political factors,
such as ethnic and politically based discrimination.
While a protection gap exists at the global level for those displaced by
disasters, on the ground at the local and national level it was clear that
climate factors interacted with other social and political factors to
displace people. Therefore, existing human rights and refugee instruments
often remain relevant in the case of disaster-related displacement.
On the ground, rules and laws are dynamic and adaptive and vary in their
local and national manifestations. For example, in Yemen, Islamic norms of
hospitality may provide protection in some disaster situations by
influencing the application of law and protection.
Laws hindering access to the formal labour market by refugees put them at
risk of becoming exploitable informal labour. As a result, few refugees
planned to remain in the receiving countries for the long-term. This
suggests a need of exploring labour migration channels and potentially
expanding them in the wider region, as many are moving in search of better
livelihoods.
Without exception, displaced persons mentioned (lack of) livelihood options
as one of the main reasons for leaving their homes and going to Kenya,
Egypt or Yemen. Most respondents were pastoralists, small-scale farmers and
agro-pastoralists.
The displaced persons were mostly concerned about limited rights to work
and lack of livelihood options -- other concerns included shelter, food
security, education, access to health care, security -- including security
against gender-based violence, and durable solutions, such as resettlement.
Kenya: Case study
Kenya is the African country with the largest displaced Somali community.
According to UNHCR Kenya (2014), there were 482,390 Somali refugees in the
country in December 2013. Due to generalized violence in South and Central
Somalia, Kenya considers all people coming from the region as prima facie
refugees. Lack of rain in Somalia in 2010 and 2011 resulted in the worst
annual crop production in 17 years, high animal mortality and soaring food
prices. Unsurprisingly, lack of livelihood options was consistently
mentioned by respondents who were mainly pastoralists, farmers, or
agro-pastoralists, as one of the main reasons for leaving Somalia. In
addition, many cited getting new skills in Dadaab as an incentive. However,
a refugee's freedom of movement in Kenya is restricted; they are usually
contained in camps run by UNHCR and NGOs in remote areas of country and
have few livelihood opportunities. Women face particular challenges,
including fear of gender-based violence, with 14 percent saying they
themselves had been exposed to gender-based violence and 31 percent saying
they knew somebody who did. De facto gradual integration is taking place
for some Somalis, since the relationship with the local host community has
been historically good. This is mainly due to the fact that the North
Eastern Province of Kenya where most refugee camps are located is
ethnically Somali. Other Somalis hope for resettlement or to reach European
and other developed countries.
Egypt: Case study
Egypt is both a refugee-receiving and a transit country. Most refugees in
Cairo were Somali with agro-pastoralist backgrounds. At the time of the
fieldwork, the issue of refugees was not as prominent in political
discourse, since most of the focus was on post-revolutionary Cairo and the
run-up to presidential elections. In Egypt, individual refugee status
determination is implemented rather than prima facie, which means that each
individual must meet all criteria in the refugee definitions, including
proof that displacement is due to persecution, generalized violence or
another reason recognized in law. In response, people adjusted or
highlighted certain parts of their narratives, so that they were more
likely to be afforded refugee status. Lack of livelihood options was often
given as the reason for leaving, as well as the interaction between armed
conflict and drought. Refugees have limited access to work, health services
and education and no right to permanent residency. However, many do
informal work mostly within the Somali refugee community. There are no
camps. Newcomers usually live together in shared apartments. Staying in
Egypt was not a long-term solution, most refugees hoped for resettlement or
to reach Europe or other developed countries. Others hoped for eventual
return to Somalia.
Yemen: Case study
Since the early 1990s, Yemen has received thousands of Somalis and
Ethiopians; it is the country in the MENA-region with the largest displaced
Somali community as well as a main transit country for Ethiopians. Most
interviewees had experienced ethnic, religious and politically based
discrimination and persecution at home, as well as generalized violence
which interacted with droughts and other disasters. Most Somalis seek
refuge upon arrival on a prima facie basis. Ethiopians must rely on
individual refugee status determination, which has a 20 percent acceptance
rate. The majority of Ethiopians plan to move on to Saudi Arabia and the
Gulf countries for work. Local and religious law may play an important role
in addition to -- and sometimes even replacing -- formal state law (e.g., the
duty of hospitality linked to Islam). However, Yemen is under strong
pressure from Saudi Arabia and other neighboring states to stop the flow of
people transiting through Yemen into their territory. The main protection
risk for migrants and refugees to Yemen is trafficking. Few saw staying in
Yemen as a long-term option, with most trying to make their way from Yemen
to Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States or to the United States, Canada or Europe.
To download the report or the fact sheet, see below.
Author
Carol Smith
Writer/editorUnited Nations University
Carol is a journalist with a green heart who believes that presenting
information in a positive and accessible manner is key in activating more
people to join the search for equitable and sustainable solutions to global
problems. A native of Montreal, Canada, she joined the UNU communications
team in 2008 while living in Tokyo and continues to collaborate from her
current home in Vancouver.
Received on Tue May 27 2014 - 09:56:30 EDT