This note focuses on the topic of forced migration in protracted crises, presenting the challenges and some possible approaches to address root causes of forced migration and support displaced and host populations, illustrated by case studies from FAO’s interventions in such contexts. Improved food security, sustainable agricultural practices, access to and management of natural resources, employment and social protection benefits are key in supporting populations affected by displacement and to ease the strain on host communities. Although forced migration poses many challenges, the long-lasting presence of forcibly displaced can create opportunities for local economies and bring skills, capital and connectivity to broader markets that might fill the unmet needs of the host communities. By identifying and strengthening the livelihood capacities of the forcibly displaced, conditions conducive to solutions can be developed while still in displacement. These can strengthen self-reliance and help people seize opportunities, paving the way for durable solutions.
The size and scope of the global forced migration crisis are unprecedented. Almost 66 million people worldwide have been forced from home by conflict. If recent trends continue, this figure could increase to between 180 and 320 million people by 2030. This global crisis already poses serious challenges to economic growth and risks to stability and national security, as well as an enormous human toll affecting tens of millions of people. These issues are on track to get worse; without significant course correction soon, the forced migration issues confronted today will seem simple decades from now. Yet, efforts to confront the crisis continue to be reactive in addressing these and other core issues. The United States should broaden the scope of its efforts beyond the tactical and reactive to see the world through a more strategic lens colored by the challenges posed—and opportunities created—by the forced migration crisis at home and abroad. CSIS convened a diverse task force in 2017 to study the global forced migration crisis. This report is a result of those findings.
At first glance, the U.S. decision to escalate the war in Vietnam in the mid-1960s, China's position on North Korea's nuclear program in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the EU resolution to lift what remained of the arms embargo against Libya in the mid-2000s would appear to share little in common. Yet each of these seemingly unconnected and far-reaching foreign policy decisions resulted at least in part from the exercise of a unique kind of coercion, one predicated on the intentional creation, manipulation, and exploitation of real or threatened mass population movements. In Weapons of Mass Migration, Kelly M. Greenhill offers the first systematic examination of this widely deployed but largely unrecognized instrument of state influence. She shows both how often this unorthodox brand of coercion has been attempted (more than fifty times in the last half century) and how successful it has been (well over half the time). She also tackles the questions of who employs this policy tool, to what ends, and how and why it ever works. Coercers aim to affect target states' behavior by exploiting the existence of competing political interests and groups, Greenhill argues, and by manipulating the costs or risks imposed on target state populations. This "coercion by punishment" strategy can be effected in two ways: the first relies on straightforward threats to overwhelm a target's capacity to accommodate a refugee or migrant influx; the second, on a kind of norms-enhanced political blackmail that exploits the existence of legal and normative commitments to those fleeing violence, persecution, or privation. The theory is further illustrated and tested in a variety of case studies from Europe, East Asia, and North America. To help potential targets better respond to—and protect themselves against—this kind of unconventional predation, Weapons of Mass Migration also offers practicable policy recommendations for scholars, government officials, and anyone concerned about the true victims of this kind of coercion—the displaced themselves.
Drawing together the work and ideas of a combination of the world's leading and emerging International Relations scholars, Refugees in International Relations considers what ideas from International Relations can offer our understanding of the international politics of forced migration. The insights draw from across the theoretical spectrum of International Relations from realism to critical theory to feminism, covering issues including international cooperation, security, and the international political economy.
This volume elucidates and explores the interrelationships and direct causal connection between serious international crimes, serious breaches to fundamental human rights, and gross affronts to human dignity that lead to mass forced migration. Forced migration most often occurs in the context of protracted armed conflict of a noninternational nature where terrorism, fierce fighting, deep animosity, tit-for-tat retaliation, and “rapid dominance” doctrine all lead to the commission of atrocity crimes. Accordingly, this volume makes a valuable contribution to the literature and to the cause of trying to resolve mass forced displacement at its root cause, to explore the course that it takes, and how it might be prevented. The collection comprises original research by leading legal scholars and jurists focusing on the three central themes of serious international crimes, human rights, and forced migration. The work also includes a Foreword from Sir Howard Morrison, QC, former President of the Appeals Division of the International Criminal Court. The book will be a valuable resource for students, academics, researchers, and policymakers working in the areas of international law, migration, human rights, and international criminal law.
Refugee and Forced Migration Studies has grown from being a concern of a relatively small number of scholars and policy researchers in the 1980s to a global field of interest with thousands of students worldwide studying displacement either from traditional disciplinary perspectives or as a core component of newer programmes across the Humanities and Social and Political Sciences. Today the field encompasses both rigorous academic research which may or may not ultimately inform policy and practice, as well as action-research focused on advocating in favour of refugees' needs and rights. This authoritative Handbook critically evaluates the birth and development of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, and analyses the key contemporary and future challenges faced by academics and practitioners working with and for forcibly displaced populations around the world. The 52 state-of-the-art chapters, written by leading academics, practitioners, and policymakers working in universities, research centres, think tanks, NGOs and international organizations, provide a comprehensive and cutting-edge overview of the key intellectual, political, social and institutional challenges arising from mass displacement in the world today. The chapters vividly illustrate the vibrant and engaging debates that characterize this rapidly expanding field of research and practice.
Whether it is the stranding of tens of thousands of migrant workers at the Libyan–Tunisian border, or the large-scale displacement triggered by floods in Pakistan and Colombia, hardly a week goes by in which humanitarian crises have not precipitated human movement. While some people move internally, others internationally, some temporarily and others permanently, there are also those who become "trapped" in place, unable to move to greater safety. Responses to these "crisis migrations" are varied and inadequate. Only a fraction of "crisis migrants" are protected by existing international, regional or national law. Even where law exists, practice does not necessarily guarantee safety and security for those who are forced to move or remain trapped. Improvements are desperately needed to ensure more consistent and effective responses. This timely book brings together leading experts from multi-disciplinary backgrounds to reflect on diverse humanitarian crises and to shed light on a series of exploratory questions: In what ways do people move in the face of crisis situations? Why do some people move, while others do not? Where do people move? When do people move, and for how long? What are the challenges and opportunities in providing protection to crisis migrants? How might we formulate appropriate responses and sustainable solutions, and upon what factors should these depend? This volume is divided into four parts, with an introductory section outlining the parameters of "crisis migration," conceptualizing the term and evaluating its utility. This section also explores the legal, policy and institutional architecture upon which current responses are based. Part II presents a diverse set of case studies, from the earthquake in Haiti and the widespread violence in Mexico, to the ongoing exodus from Somalia, and environmental degradation in Alaska and the Carteret Islands, among others. Part III focuses on populations that may be at particular risk, including non-citizens, migrants at sea, those displaced to urban areas, and trapped populations. The concluding section maps the global governance of crisis migration and highlights gaps in current provisions for crisis-related movement across multiple levels. This valuable book brings together previously diffuse research and policy issues under the analytical umbrella of "crisis migration." It lays the foundations for assessing and addressing real challenges to the status quo, and will be of interest to scholars, policy makers, and practitioners committed to seeking out improved responses and ensuring the dignity and safety of millions who move in the context of humanitarian crises.
This booklet is directed towards FAO Member States, UN system and all other potential partners, and sheds light on the role that resilient agriculture livelihoods can play in addressing some of the root causes of migration in protracted crises and assisting displaced populations and host communities to cope with protracted displacement. The document aims at improving understanding of migration in situations of protracted crisis by explaining the context and providing examples of the work that FAO, together with its partners, has been doing across different countries to strengthen the resilience of communities and leave no one behind before, during and after protracted crises.
This open access book discusses the socio-political context of the COVID-19 crisis and questions the management of the pandemic emergency with special reference to how this affected the governance of migration and asylum. The book offers critical insights on the impact of the pandemic on migrant workers in different world regions including North America, Europe and Asia. The book addresses several categories of migrants including medical staff, farm labourers, construction workers, care and domestic workers and international students. It looks at border closures for non-citizens, disruption for temporary migrants as well as at special arrangements made for essential (migrant) workers such as doctors or nurses as well as farmworkers, ‘shipped’ to destination with special flights to make sure emergency wards are staffed, and harvests are picked up and the food processing chain continues to function. The book illustrates how the pandemic forces us to rethink notions like membership, citizenship, belonging, but also solidarity, human rights, community, essential services or ‘essential’ workers alongside an intersectional perspective including ethnicity, gender and race.
