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R04


Reintegration of refugees in host community: leveraging community resilience and innovative strategies for sustainable development 
Convenor:
Michael Osew (International Peace Support Training Centre)
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Discussants:
Patrick Arzrouni (IPSTC)
Michael Mugah (Institute for Security Studies)
Format:
Roundtable
Stream:
Crisis, conflict, and humanitarian response

Short Abstract:

Refugee influx, though driven by survival, overwhelm host communities, cascading crises. Struggle for basic services to meet the needs of both refugees and host populations lead to shortages and deteriorating living conditions, often resulting in tensions and resentment between refugees and locals.

Description:

Incursion of refugees aggravates crisis by straining resources and systems of host communities, amplifying vulnerabilities, and creating new challenges (Black, R., 2018). Refugees’ influx often overwhelms healthcare, education, housing, and other essential services, while increasing competition for jobs and food, leading to economic pressures and social tensions. Cultural differences often fuel discrimination and xenophobia, exacerbating divisions between refugees and locals. Security risks also arise, as displacement brings conflict dynamics and criminal activities into host regions. These factors combined create a complex humanitarian and social crisis that demands coordinated, sustainable solutions. Reintegration of refugees into host communities presents both challenges and opportunities for achieving sustainable development.

This roundtable seeks to explore how leveraging community resilience and innovative strategies can transform refugee reintegration from a humanitarian imperative into a driver of social cohesion, economic growth, and inclusive development. Innovative approaches, such as inclusive governance, skills training, public-private partnerships, and technology-driven solutions, are pivotal in addressing systemic barriers and creating shared benefits.

Academics, practitioners and civil society advocates working with refugees and other marginalised communities in addressing systemic barriers will contribute in this discussion to explore the questions;

1. How can host communities’ resilience be strengthened to accommodate the reintegration of refugees without straining existing resources or creating tensions?

2. What innovative approaches or strategies have proven effective in generating commensurate opportunities for transformation and positive change in reintegrating refugees into host communities?

3. And, What empirical evidence supports opportunities in reintegration of refugees into host communities?

Accepted contributions:

Session 1
 
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