Oliver Bakewell, Javans Okhonjo Wanga Whether people are migrating freely in the hope of improving their quality of life or fleeing as refugees to save their lives in the face of persecution, conflict and violence, the movement of people across the world creates both enormous challenges and great opportunities for societies in every continent. The complex set of drivers shaping people’s movements and the large array of stakeholders involved as
Abdirahman Ahmed, Mohamed Fadal, Maissoun Hussein, Padmini Iyer, Louisa Brain Environment and mobility are closely linked in a myriad of complex and contextualised ways. Environmental change, in conjunction with a range of overlapping economic, political, social and demographic factors, influences migration patterns and preferences in the Horn of Africa (HoA). These phenomena – and the associated pressures on livelihoods, such as decreased availability of water and pasture for animals, deteriorating
Ethiopia set a world record for internally displaced people (IDPs) two times (in 2018 and 2021) in three years. As of March 2022, an estimated 5,582,000 persons were displaced within the country due to armed conflicts and natural disasters. Konso Zone situated in Southern Nations Nationalities and peoples Region (SNNPRS) and Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State (BGRS) are among the regions badly affected by conflict and displacement. About one hundred thousand of
Fekadu Adugna, Ketema Debale Since 2017, Ethiopia has been experiencing internal displacement as a result of violent conflict and natural disasters. The magnitude of these internal displacements is unprecedented in the country’s history. The aim of this study is to investigate the causes of the current conflict in Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State (BGRS) and the Konso Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPRS) and thereby to examine the short-
People in South Sudan have experienced decades of forced displacement and cross-border mobility, resulting in families split across the country and neighbouring Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. As of 2021, more than four million South Sudanese citizens were displaced either internally or internationally. Over the past four years, over 500,000 refugees and over 1.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned to their habitual residence. This policy brief discusses long-standing
This blog is related to an upcoming research study on conflict and displacement in two regional states in Ethiopia. “… Whether we stay in this camp or return to our village, it is all the same. All our assets have been burnt down and destroyed. Now, even if peace will be restored, we have nothing left to lead our household. There is no rain to cultivate. Even these people who
Felicity A. Okoth Four years after the adoption of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM) at the UN General Assembly, the environment in which donors, UN agencies and governments in the Horn of Africa (HoA) are expected to translate commitments into action has remained unstable. New and intensified challenges, including those linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and the increasingly
The Research and Evidence Facility (REF) was established in May 2016 to conduct research relevant to the formulation and implementation of EU Trust Fund activities in the Horn of Africa. It was created to collate and produce evidence and policy relevant knowledge on themes related to the Fund’s activities. Themes to be researched include the drivers of migration, dynamics of cross-border economies and centre/periphery relations, the features and limitations of
This blog series is related to the REF’s ongoing study on climate change and migration in the Horn of Africa. This research study is being carried out in Ethiopia (Somali Region), Kenya (Tana River County) and Somaliland (Togdheer and Maroodijeex regions). The study investigates how people use migration as a strategy for adapting to environmental change and how people’s circumstances and profiles influence their migration decisions. The study also explores
This policy brief presents the findings and recommendations from a study, on disability inclusion for refugees in Ethiopia. The study examines the experiences, protection needs, barriers to, and opportunities for providing protection for refugees living with disabilities in Ethiopia, and ways to institutionalise better practices of inclusion. Persons with disabilities are often programmatically ‘invisible’ in refugee assistance programmes due to a lack of data and a range of individual, institutional,