African Refugee Problem: a Case Study of Unhcr's Assistance to Refugees in the Horn of Africa

Abstract

The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the subsequent end of the Cold War introduced a new wold order with its own problems and complexities. Many approaches of solving global problems that had been modeled along the Cold War framework are currently facing new challenges some of which they cannot address adequately. Their tenability is now under question and scrutiny. As we begin the new millennium, there is need to re-think some of these traditional approaches with a view to making them relevant for solving modem problems. One of these areas that need to be revisited and reviewed is the international -humanitarian assistance to refugees. The traditional approach of relying on the UNHCR and other donor agencies has not only become expensive over the years but has also tired the international community which has continuously shouldered the burden of states of origin that failed in their duty of protecting their citizens. There is a need to revise the humanitarian assistance to refugees with an aim of making it more proactive and also making it more inclined to integrating the community where the refugees are settled. This study investigates the challenges facing the humanitarian ,assistance to refugees in the Horn of Africa ill the post-Cold War era. The Horn of Africa has over the years been synonymous with refugees. In the 1990s, it exhibited various complexities of refugeehood. These included continued population displacement both within states and .•. across international boarders, life in exile for hundred thousands of refugees, and, prospects of repatriation. This study examines how the humanitarian assistance to refugees deals with all these phenomena. An attempt is made to identify and highlight the loopholes and weaknesses facing the humanitarian assistance programs. Finally, a case is made for the need to make humanitarian assistance programs to be more holistic and inclusive. Thus, the agencies providing humanitarian assistance programs ought to work closely with the UNHCR in its duty of assisting refugees.