Local Integration
© UNHCR/Brian Sokol
Millions of refugees around the world live year after year with little hope of ever returning home. Some cannot because their countries are engulfed by endless conflict or because they fear persecution if they were to return.
In cases where repatriation is not an option, finding a home in the country of asylum and integrating into the local community could offer a durable solution to their plight and the chance to build a new life.
Local integration is a complex and gradual process with legal, economic, social and cultural dimensions. It imposes considerable demands on both the individual and the receiving society. In many cases, acquiring the nationality of the country of asylum is the culmination of this process. UNHCR estimates that, over the past decade, 1.1 million refugees around the world became citizens in their country of asylum.
Evaluation and Research Papers on Refugee Integration
- Rural Refugee Resettlement: Secondary Migration and Community Integration in Fort Morgan, Colorado. Jessica A. Marks 17 Mar 2014
- The labour market integration of resettled refugees 1 Nov 2013
- Casamance refugees in The Gambia: self-settlement and the challenges of integration. Gail Hopkins 1 Sep 2011
European Series
- Integration Rights and Practices with Regard to Recognised Refugees in the Central European Countries: Part I, European Series, Vol.5, No.1 1 Jul 2000
- Integration Rights and Practices with Regard to Recognised Refugees in the Central European Countries: Part II, European Series, Vol.5, No.1 1 Jul 2000
- NGO Manual on Integration and Regional Instruments concerning Refugees and Human Rights, European Series, Vol.4, No.2 1 Jul 1998