• Corpus ID: 44934685

Development Assisted Integration : A Viable Alternative to Long Term Residence in Refugee Camps ?

@inproceedings{Feldman2007DevelopmentAI,
  title={Development Assisted Integration : A Viable Alternative to Long Term Residence in Refugee Camps ?},
  author={Sara J. Feldman},
  year={2007}
}

• Sara J. Feldman
• Published 2007

Since the inception of the refugee protection regime in 1951, refugee camps have been its central organizing concept. In the camp-based model, refugee-producing crises are assumed to be temporary emergencies. In reality, most refugee situations last much longer: 7.89 million of the world’s 12 million refugees and asylum seekers have been in camps for five years or more. While camps are necessary in the emergency phase of a refugee crisis, reliance on a camp-centric policy in protracted refugee situations is an inefficient use of resources; causes tension between refugee and local populations; keeps refugees dependent on aid; can lead to health and security crises; and prevents refugees from reentering society and pursuing livelihoods. Development assisted integration (DAI) is an alternative paradigm, which has had some success getting refugees out of camps and moving toward self-sufficiency and greater enjoyment of their rights in protracted crises. However, there remains a lack of research on the viability of such an approach, as well as a number of challenges to implementation. This paper attempts to narrow this research gap by examining past attempts at DAI implementation, assessing the level of success of each effort, and using these examples to identify optimal preconditions for successful DAI implementation.