Summary

The world is undergoing a process of rapid urbanization. In view of this development, it is no surprise to find that a growing number and proportion of the world’s refugees are also to be found in urban areas. According to UNHCR’s most recent statistics, almost half of the world’s 10.5 million refugees now reside in cities and towns, compared to one third who live in camps. As well as increasing in size, the world’s urban refugee population is also changing in composition. Today, large numbers of refugee women, children and older people are to be found in urban areas, particularly in those countries where there are no camps. They are often confronted with a range of protection risks: the threat of arrest and detention, refoulement, harassment, exploitation, discrimination, inadequate and overcrowded shelter, as well as vulnerability to sexual and gender-based violence, HIV-AIDS, human smuggling and trafficking.

Recognizing the need to address the issue of urban refugees in a more comprehensive manner, UNHCR is now replacing the 1997 policy statement with the current document. Firmly based on UNHCR’s mandate to protect the rights of refugees and to find solutions to their plight, this paper marks the beginning of a new approach with regard to the way that UNHCR addresses the issue of refugees in urban areas. Its implementation will take full account of the experience that the Office has gained in urban contexts, drawing upon the many effective practices already formulated by UNHCR and its partners.

The new policy has a number of significant features. First, it is a relatively concise document, setting out the broad contours and underlying principles of UNHCR’s engagement with urban refugees. It does not endeavour to provide detailed operational guidelines, nor does it relate to UNHCR’s engagement with internally displaced persons or returnees in urban areas.

Second, this document fully recognizes the need for the policy to be adapted to the specific circumstances of different countries and cities. It is, moreover, primarily related to the situation of urban refugees in developing and middle-income countries where UNHCR has a presence and an operational role. Thus the paper does not examine the challenge of refugee integration or the issue of subsidiary protection standards in the industrialized states.

Third, UNHCR also recognizes that the policy objectives set out in this paper will not be attained by the Office alone. If those goals are to be achieved, an appropriate resource base will be required, coupled with effective cooperation and support from a wide range of other actors, especially those host governments and city authorities in the developing world that so generously host the growing number of urban refugees. In this respect, UNHCR encourages states to respect and give practical meaning to the principle of international solidarity and responsibility-sharing.

Finally, the policy presented in this document is intended to apply to refugees in all urban areas, and not only those in capital cities. It must be recognized, however, that UNHCR will be constrained in its ability to attain this objective in countries where refugees are scattered across a large number of urban locations.