Addressing Protracted Displacement: A Framework for Development-Humanitarian Cooperation

There are more than 60 million people forcibly displaced by conflict or persecution worldwide – the highest level recorded since World War II. The Syrian conflict is the largest cause of the recent spike in refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), but pressure is growing to address refugee and IDP displacement across developing countries. Many conflicts have not been resolved, and refugee and IDP returns are at an historic low. The average length of displacement is now 17 years. The cost of meeting increasing levels of humanitarian need has grown steadily, with global expenditure on humanitarian aid increasing from USD 12.4 billion in 2010 to USD 24.5 billion in 2014 – and estimated to end out even higher in 2015.

This paper is a think piece on how approaches to protracted displacement need to change if the world is to reverse the escalating crisis seen in recent times. It is not a prescriptive paper, but is designed to spur further thinking and to inform debates on policy and programming. The think piece drew on collaboration between the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Bank, supported by the Center on International Cooperation (CIC) to inform their own policy and practice, but it is hoped that the analysis will also be of interest to other development and humanitarian actors.