United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (hereinafter UNHCR) founding statute

makes it clear that the organisations work is humanitarian and entirely non-political. It
entrusts UNHCR with two main and closely related functions to protect refugees and to
promote durable solutions to their problems1. This paper discusses the three durable
solutions for refugees and concludes with an opinion.

Refugees count on three durable solutions: (i) resettlement, (ii) local integration and (iii)
voluntary repatriation. They allow them to rebuild their lives and live their lives in dignity
and peace.

Pursuant to the Statute of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees of 1950
(hereinafter the Statute), the UNHCR is competent to assist any person who,

owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race,

religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political
opinion is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such
fear or for reasons other than personal convenience, is unwilling to a avail
himself of the protection of that country.2

The UNHCR, the UN agency is mandated to oversee the application of the 1951
Convention, providing international protection including promoting the three durable
solutions for refugees. As provided for in Chapter 1, the principal instruments of refugee
protection are the UNHCRs Statute and the 1951 Convention. The 1951 Convention
does not expressly delineate durable solutions, however, both repatriation and
resettlement are implicit in the obligatory norm of non-refoulement. Specifically, voluntary
repatriation follows directly from the principle of non-refoulement.3 On the one hand, the
involuntary return of refugees would in practice amount to refoulement. The Statute is
more explicit: governments are called upon to cooperate with the Office of the High
Commissioner by admitting refugees to their territories as a first line of protection,
assisting in efforts to promote the voluntary repatriation of refugees and their assimilation.

1 Article 1 of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

2 Statute of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Chapter II, Section 6 A (ii).
3 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Handbook, Voluntary Repatriation:

International Protection, 1996.

The High Commissioner for Refugees is likewise authorised to seek permanent solutions
for the problem of refugees by assisting governments and private organisations to
facilitate voluntary repatriation of refugees or their assimilation in new national
communities. Similarly, the 1951 Convention defines who qualifies for refugee status and
specifies a number of mechanisms by which certain individuals could either be excluded
from refugee status or have their refugee status revoked. The bulk of the Convention
specifies the social, economic and political rights to be afforded to individuals recognised
as refugees. Perhaps the most significant right afforded to refugees by the Convention is
protection against refoulement as is evidenced in the case of Ahmed v Austria4. As
specified in Article 33(1) of the 1951 Convention:

No contracting State shall expel or return (refouler) a refugee in any manner

whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be
threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a
particular social group or political opinion.

The preamble to the 1951 Convention assures refugees the widest possible exercise of
their fundamental rights and freedoms under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
including the right to return to ones country. The relationship between human rights and
durable solutions thus explicitly cements the traditional right of non-refoulement with the
right to remain and the right not to be displaced.5 However, the majority of the worlds
refugees, the solution to their plight is to return to their home country or where they
originally were domiciled. UNHCR promotes three durable solutions for refugees after
emergency and humanitarian need have been met. Voluntary repatriation should occur
in conditions of safety and dignity and on the basis of an informed decision by the refugee.
Some refugees are allowed to stay permanently in the country in which they first sought
asylum. This is known as local integration. Finally, a very small percentage of refugees
are resettled to a second country of asylum. Although resettlement is the solution for the

4Appeal No. 25964/94, Judgement of 17 December 1996.

5Alan E. Nash, ed., A Theoretical and Practical Enquiry, in Human Rights and the Protection of Refugees
Under International Law 216 217, 1998.

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smallest number of refugees, it is an extremely important protection tool as well as a
durable solution.

In the pursuit of durable solutions to refugee problems, UNHCR supports those who wish
to go home as a priority. Where voluntary repatriation is not feasible, UNHCR facilitates
the integration of refugees in countries of asylum, or failing that, to resettle them in other
countries. Voluntary repatriation has long been regarded as the preferred solution to
refugee situations. Most refugees would rather return home as soon as circumstances
permit and a measure of stability has been restored.6 UNHCR encourages voluntary
repatriation as the best solution for refugees, as long as it is safe to do so and that their
reintegration is viable. The agency often provides transportation and a start-up package
which may include cash grants, income-generation projects and practical assistance such
as farm tools and seeds.

On the other hand, some refugees cannot go back home or are unwilling to do so, usually
because they could face continued persecution. In such circumstances, UNHCR helps to
find them new homes, either in the asylum country where they are living or in third
countries where they can be permanently resettled.7 Resettlement is the selection and
transfer of refugees from the first country in which they have sought protection or asylum
to another country which has agreed to admit them and ultimately grant them permanent
settlement.8 The three durable solutions to the plight of refugees, in accordance with the
1951 Convention are voluntary repatriation to their home country, when conditions allow,
local integration in the first country of asylum, or resettlement. As such, resettlement is
an essential element of international refuge protection. The protection of refugees
remains UNHCRs raison dtre, thus it identifies refugees in need of resettlement based
on vulnerability criteria. The criteria includes, inter alia persons in immediate danger and
persons with specific additional needs, such as survivors of torture and other forms of
violence. In protracted refugee situations where local integration is not an option and safe,
voluntary return is not possible in the near future, resettlement may be the only durable

6 Guy S. Goodwin-Gill & Jane McAdam, The Refugee in International Law, 3rd edn., Oxford University
Press, 2007.
7 Ibid.
8 http://www.unhcr.org/uk/resettlement.html.

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solution available and form part of a comprehensive solution that may also help to
improve conditions for other refugees in the country of asylum.

In an increasingly crowded world, relatively few countries are prepared to integrate

refugees. Among the three durable solutions, integrating refugees in the host stable
country is a better option. These contribute greatly to the development and the economic
growth of a host country. Integration allow refugees to realise their full potential. Local
integration allow the refugees the possibility to enjoy the freedoms and livelihood they
would have in their home countries. The 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol place
substantial weight on the integration of refugees. The 1951 Convention enumerates
social and economic rights designed to assist integration, and in its Article 34 calls on
states to facilitate the assimilation and naturalisation of refugees. Many premature
returns represent a failure by the international community to provide for and protect
refugees. Local integration into their host societies is the principal durable solution for
refugees in this global world.