displacement — Publications

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.

Read full Brief here

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

KNOMAD: Youth Migration & Development: A New Lens For Critical Times

January 2024

Supported by World Bank and its TWG on youth & migration co-chaired by OECD & UNDP; Samuel Hall's paper with KNOMAD, “Youth Migration & Development: A New Lens for Critical Times”, aims to empirically validate conclusions in KOMADs scoping paper produced in 2022.

With case studies from Columbia, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Senegal, Thailand and Tunisia, the study employed innovative qualitative research methods, filling crucial research gaps and re-conceptualising ‘youth’ and ‘migration’ through the perspectives of the young people.

Through this study, we aimed to better understand how youth migrant integration behaviour differs across age cohorts, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and countries of origin and between migrants and non-migrants.

Download here

Read our scoping paper from 2022 here

Samuel HallFebruary 1, 2024youth migration, Migration, displacement, Case study, Youth development

ADSP: Challenges Faced by Afghan Women and Children in Iran and Pakistan

December 2023

Samuel Hall collaborated with the Asia Displacement Solutions Platform (ADSP) to contribute to two significant research briefs addressing pressing issues Afghan communities face. The first, "Forced to Migrate: Afghan Women Waiting for Protection in Iran and Pakistan," explores the reduced protection space and obstacles confronting Afghan families in the same regions The second, "Afghan Children’s Access to Education in Iran and Pakistan," sheds light on the challenges experienced by Afghan girls in Iran and Pakistan post-2021 migration.

These research briefs are pivotal in understanding the complexities of education rights and forced migration challenges in these regions. Our studies emphasize the urgent need for international support and a rights-based response. A key recommendation emerging from our research is the call for increased global solidarity and responsibility sharing to address the rights of Afghan women, children, and families.

Read the briefing note on Forced to Migrate: Afghan Women Waiting for Protection in Iran and Pakistan, here

Read the briefing note on Afghan Children’s Access to Education in Iran and Pakistan here

Middle East &North AfricaSamuel HallJanuary 11, 2024ADSP, women's safety, children, migration, displacement, Education

Equal Partnerships: African Intermediary Cities as Actors and Partners in Urban Migration Governance. City Report: Garissa- Kenya

November 2023

The Equal Partnerships project led by Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Centre for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg, Research on Migration, Displacement, and Integration (MFI), United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and Samuel Hall with support from Robert Bosch Stiftung explores the opportunities and challenges of collaborative, urban migration governance in African intermediary cities.

As part of this project, Samuel Hall developed a city report exploring urban migration governance in Garissa, Kenya. Home to approximately 500,000 inhabitants, Garissa is a major economic hub. It holds significance in urban migration and displacement, especially in relation to regional conflicts, economic dynamics, climate change, and environmental decline.

We conducted a stakeholder mapping exercise to take stock of actors addressing migration and displacement . Further, to explore partnerships and cooperation gaps and opportunities, we conducted participatory field research with the county of Garissa and organised a local workshop in June 2022 and February 2023. Our research found that multiple actors cooperate on migration and displacement-related issues.

This report presents the outcomes of the stakeholder mapping, identifies opportunities and challenges of cooperative action on migration, and concludes with concrete policy recommendations for strengthening multi-stakeholder partnerships to address migration in the urban context.

Read the city report here

Find other city reports developed as part of this project here.

Read our policy paper here.

East & Southern AfricaSamuel HallNovember 16, 2023Equal Partnerships, report, Migration, displacement, Kenya, Urban

REF: South Sudan’s Decades of Displacement: Understanding Return and Questioning Reintegration

February 2023

Samuel Hall in collaboration with Research and Evidence Facility (REF) in this study, explores the experiences of displacement, return and reintegration among South Sudanese refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The overall objective of the research is to understand the factors influencing displacement within and from South Sudan, and return to South Sudan from refugee hosting areas. The study proposes to integrate provisions for cross border mobility, invest in area-based, community-based and locally driven peace and development initiatives among others.

Download the Full Report Here

Download the Policy Brief: Leveraging Cross-Border Cooperation Here

Download the Policy Brief: Youth Conflict Here

Download the Policy Brief: Gendered Experiences Here

Samuel HallFebruary 6, 2023South sudan, displacement, REF, COVID-19

EU: Evaluation For The EU Trust Fund in Kenya

December 2022

Samuel Hall was commissioned to evaluate the EU Trust Fund in Kenya. This evaluation was used to inform the next phase of EU funding to start in 2023.

The overall findings of this evaluation point to a positive track record despite a historically challenging context of a global pandemic and of an extreme drought affecting the arid and semi-arid lands of Turkana and Garissa. The findings show that continued funding and support is needed as policy openings in Kenya expand the range of possibilities and can change the approach to solutions in refugee hosting areas, beyond camp-based approaches.

Download The Executive Summary Here

Samuel HallDecember 30, 2022EUTF, EVALUATION, KENYA, 2022, EU, displacement

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).

Read Here

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

HelpAge – COVID-19, Displacement & Older People in Afghanistan

January 2021

Samuel Hall and HelpAge International add a short country report brief focused on the impact of COVID-19 on Afghanistan’s elderly population to a multi-partner series sponsored by UNFPA and coordinated by HelpAge International. Samuel Hall’s contribution is independent and entirely self-funded. The overall objective of this series is to broadly monitor, document, analyse and share how the situation of older people in Asia changes in 2020 as a result of COVID-19, in order to inform programmatic responses and policy advice, post-pandemic. The methodology is geared towards collecting and analysing a wide range of secondary evidence from multiple sources, including academic, UN and INGO studies; government documents and data; key informant interviews; summaries of field data; and media reports.

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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.

Download Guideline Note

Download Case Studies

ReDSS - Somalia Solutions Analysis Update

May 2019

Led by the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS) in partnership with the EU RE-INTEG, Durable Solutions Programme and Danwadaag Solutions Consortia, with financial support from ECHO, Danida and DFID, research was conducted by Samuel Hall and the Somali Disaster Resilience Institute (SDRI). The report presents a progress review and update on durable solutions programming in displacement-affected communities in three urban centres in Somalia: Mogadishu, Baidoa and Kismayo.

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UNESCO - Inclusion of Afghan Refugees in the National Education Systems of Iran and Pakistan

November 2018

This paper was commissioned by the Global Education Monitoring Report as background information to assist in drafting the 2019 GEM Report, Migration, displacement and education: Building bridges, not walls, accessible here.

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Open Society Foundations - Free and Safe Movement in East Africa

October 2018

A multi-region study analysing migration policy and practices in Central, East and Southern Africa. This report reviews findings at the East African sub-regional level at a time of growing attention to fostering mobility and mobility’s gain for protection and development.

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Syria's Spontaneous Returns

July 2018

This study seeks to provide an analysis of the current returns to Syria. The ongoing armed conflict in Syria has displaced millions of people inside and outside the country sparking an international humanitarian crisis. There is no clear picture of the number or conditions in places of return. This research contributes to filling this gap.

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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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IOM/DFID - Setting Standards for an Integrated Approach to Reintegration

January 2018

This report, prepared and conducted by Samuel Hall under the IOM DFID-funded MEASURE Project, outlines recommendations to support sustainable reintegration of migrants who return to their home countries in the framework of AVRR programmes.

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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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NRC - Access to Tazkera and Other Civil Documentation in Afghanistan

November 2016

The purpose of this research is to inform future work in supporting displacement-affected persons to access civil documentation as well as accessing other rights and services connected to it. This will in turn contribute to enabling persons affected by displacement to achieve durable solutions – whether through local integration, or return/settlement in another part of Afghanistan.

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Samuel Hall - Urban Displaced Youth in Kabul - Part 1: Mental Health Matters

June 2016

Largely ignored for over 10 years, the role of Afghanistan’s youth in transition has been increasingly in the spotlight since 2013, the year of the National Youth Policy. Much more needs to be done to bring change for youth as 60% of Afghanistan’s population is under the age of 24. Taking the case of Kabul’s urban displaced youth, this study shows just how. This is the first of a three-part series that will be released between now and August 2016, ahead of the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan.

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NRC/ICRI/EU/NMFA - Regional Workshop Report on Afghan Displaced Youth

March 2016

The outcome of this workshop is concrete and operational: a set of possible key objectives and indicators that can help guide NGOs in their work with Afghan refugee youth, as well as facilitate improved donor and host government understanding of key issues. The centrality of better data was voiced by all NGOs present, a priority need in Iran and Pakistan, as well as upon return to Afghanistan, to enable tailored programming that support youth’s potential and are aligned with their aspirations.

Download Workshop Report

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