IDPs — Publications — Samuel Hall

ADSP: Research Brief - Land Allocation Schemes for the Displaced in Afghanistan

June 2024

In Afghanistan, over 6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) are living in protracted displacement, representing the second largest IDP population group worldwide. In addition, over half a million Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan in the fall of 2023. The displaced and returnees live often in informal settlements (ISETs) with no right to their land or housing, and at risk of forced evictions. Access to land or shelter has been for decades, and remains today, a fundamental challenge underscoring the need to examine responses to landlessness for the displaced.

Developed with Asia Discplacement Solutions Platfrom (ADSP) this Research Brief takes stock of past ‘Land Allocation Schemes’ in Afghanistan in order to better plan ahead. It provides an overview of these schemes, including in terms of their capacity to accommodate returnees, their shortcomings and successes, appropriateness and accessibility, notably as communicated by residents themselves. This is followed by a presentation of best practices, engagement opportunities and recommendations for meaningful engagement with the land-related needs of returnees and Internally Displaced Persons.

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Samuel HallJune 3, 2024afghanistan, displacement, IDPs, ADSP, Research brief

IIED: City planning with Displaced Communities: The Benefits of Inclusion

December 2022

Displacement impacts over 100 million individuals globally and is frequently prolonged. Many displaced people seek work in urban cities. According to UNHCR, more than 70% of displaced people live in urban environments. Despite the huge numbers, there is little research on how urban planning can include internally displaced people (IDPs).

There is transformative potential in involving displaced people as active participants while creating services that reflect local needs, knowledge, and address power imbalances.

We must aim for strategic and financial support to co-produce solutions that help create social cohesion along with promoting progressive policies. Read more about participatory planning in our briefing paper co-authored by Nassim Majidi, co-founder Samuel Hall with The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

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Samuel HallDecember 7, 2022IDPs, Social cohesion, IIED, displacement

AFI – Financial Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced Persons

December 2020

Forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) often lack access to finances – including savings accounts, transfers, loans and insurance. In support of AFI’s “Advancing the Financial Inclusion of FDPs: Putting Recommendations to Practice" , Samuel Hall created a guideline note on how to better include displaced people into National Financial Inclusion Strategies (NFIS) globally. In addition, Samuel Hall and AFI, with support from Strathmore University in Kenya, researched the financial inclusion of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to produce a series of case studies covering Afghanistan, Mauritania and Rwanda.

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ADSP - A Long Way Home: Obstacles and Opportunities for IDP Return in Afghanistan

January 2020

Building on secondary research and an ethnographic-based primary data collection, this research turns to IDPs in key provinces and districts of return to ask: which factors positively contribute to the ability of IDP populations to return to their places of origin in a manner which is sustainable and dignified? Samuel Hall answers this question by taking a case study approach, zooming in on 1-3 specific theme(s) in each of the areas studied, and building a narrative of local specificities raised by IDPs themselves in group and individual consultations, including interactions with other community representatives as well in the process.

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NRC - The Challenges Displaced Afghans Face in Securing Durable Solutions

January 2018

This policy brief explores the situation faced by returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan, calling for a collective approach across the humanitarian-developmentpeace nexus.

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NRC - A Research Study on the Challenges of IDP Protection in Afghanistan

January 2018

This analysis focuses on assessing the causes of prolonged and multiple displacement and seeks to present the key protection challenges still confronting displacement-affected Afghans today. Combining the voices of IDPs with analysis of primary data collected from IDPs and secondarily displaced returning refugees across Afghanistan.

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NRC - Going "Home" to Displacement

December 2017

The data presented in this case study is drawn from 2017 research on IDPs’ protection needs carried out by Samuel Hall for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). A large quantitative survey was conducted in Herat, Kabul, Kandahar, Kunduz and Nangarhar provinces, where data was collected in rural, peri-urban and urban areas. Of 2,580 respondents, 1,161 were returnee-IDPs and 1,420 other IDPs. The sample data is neither representative nor random, but combined with focus group discussions with displaced people and other community members, the research captures their narratives, protection needs and experiences.

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DACAAR - Agency and Choice Among the Displaced

July 2015

The focus of this study was on the decision-making process behind refugee returnees’ and IDPs’ choices of destination. More specifically this research identifies factors that influence whether a returnee/IDP individual, family or community chooses to move to an urban or a rural location.

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OCHA - June Humanitarian Bulletin

June 2015

The focus of humanitarian and development assistance should be on the poorest families; many of whom will be either internally displaced or returnees. However, the argument for targeting returning refugees as a particular group is becoming less convincing. As this study and previous studies (Samuel Hall/MGSOG 2013 UNHCR Shelter assistance programme evaluation) show, returnees are comparatively less vulnerable compared to internally displaced persons.

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DRC - Great Lakes Civil Society Project

December 2014

Samuel Hall was commissioned by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) in October 2014 to conduct a mid-term review of the second phase of the Great Lakes Civil Society Programme (GLP), a regional programme implemented since January 2010 by DRC with funding from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).

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MORR/UNHCR/NRC - Afghanistan National IDP Policy Brief

April 2015

This Policy Brief, prepared with the support of UNHCR and NRC, is intended to serve as a reference guide to help all stakeholders understand what their role is in supporting the effective implementation of the Policy and to contribute towards ensuring that the rights of IDPs are protected throughout all phases of displacement.

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ILO - Market Opportunity Mapping in Somalia

December 2014

This document provides highlights from a market and value chain research conducted by Samuel Hall Consulting for the International labour Organisation (ILO) in 2014 in Baidoa and Beletweyne districts in Somalia.

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NRC - Evaluation of NRC's Youth Education Pack (YEP)

July 2014

This report is an evaluation of the YEP project using the OECD-DAC criteria and substantive quantitative, qualitative and contextual information from the field.

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DRC/WHH - Cash-Based Assistance Programmes for IDPs in the Kabul Informal Settlements

May 2014

Samuel Hall was commissioned to undertake an evaluation of the 2013/2014 winter’s cash interventions through a three-phased approach including a baseline, midline and endline survey of their winter cash assistance activities in the KIS through a field- and evidence-based, quantitative and qualitative research study.

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IOM - IDP Movement Tracking, Needs and Vulnerability Analysis - Afghanistan

May 2014

This study presents the results of IOM’s IDP Movement Tracking and Needs and Vulnerability Analysis Exercise conducted in Dec 2013 by Samuel Hall. It seeks to provide IOM – and its migration and displacement partners – with field-based evidence of issues that negatively impact both conflict and natural disaster-induced IDPs in Afghanistan.

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UNHCR - Shelter Assistance Programme Evaluation

November 2012

Evaluating UNHCR shelter programme’s contribution to reintegration outcomes for returnees and IDPs. A decade and 220,000 units built: what should be the future of the shelter strategy? Analysis based on a sample of 4,488 respondents in 15 Afghan provinces.

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DRC - AfPak Labour Market Assessment

September 2013

Samuel Hall researchers aimed to assist DRC in planning for its livelihoods programming by answering the following key research question: ‘What are the segments of the Afghan urban labour market with the biggest labour supply gaps and future opportunities for displaced populations?’

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DRC - Cash Programme Review for IDPs in the KIS

May 2013

DRC commissioned Samuel Hall to research the relevance and applicability of cash-based interventions in the Kabul Informal Settlements, with a focus on identifying the risks and protection issues for a cash approach, and assessing its viability for IDPs.

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Solidarités International - Sustaining the Working Poor in the Kabul Informal Settlements

December 2012

This third study by Samuel Hall on the living conditions of Afghan IDPs contributes to the knowledge needed to mainstream protection in policy responses.

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World Bank & UNHCR – Research Study on IDPs in urban settings - Afghanistan

May 2011

Part of broader World Bank research on poverty in Afghanistan, the study focuses on IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) living in informal settlements in urban centres as a vulnerable segment of the population. The study discusses characteristics, livelihood strategies and vulnerabilities of households living in informal settlements in three urban centres in Afghanistan: Kabul, Kandahar and Herat. It finds that a comprehensive and integrated approach to displacement in urban areas is needed, and argues that sustainable solutions for IDPs in informal settlements must be developed, not simply humanitarian interventions.

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