Why is the term 'persons of forced displacement' preferred over 'refugee'?

The term 'persons of forced displacement' is often preferred because it emphasizes the human being first, before any legal status. It's more inclusive, acknowledges that displacement is not a choice, and helps move away from restrictive legal definitions.

How does historical colonialism still impact the current refugee system?

Historical colonialism laid the groundwork for the current humanitarian system, including the initial drafting of the Refugee Convention which prioritized European refugees. This legacy continues through systemic racism, unequal funding flows, and the perpetuation of power imbalances favoring the Global North.

What are some common barriers that prevent refugee-led organizations (RLOs) from receiving funding?

RLOs face barriers such as rigorous application systems, perceived lack of 'capacity' (often due to systematic underfunding), strict reliance on dominant professional cultures like English fluency, and a lack of transparency or equitable partnerships with international organizations.

Can international actors maintain their roles while decolonizing the refugee sector?

Yes, international actors have a crucial role in allyship. This involves actively dismantling oppressive systems they may have benefited from, unlearning harmful practices, sharing resources, and mobilizing others to join the journey towards equitable partnerships.

What practical steps can organizations take towards decolonization?

Organizations must commit to internal DEI work, including unlearning, reflecting on daily interactions, transforming recruitment and evaluation processes, and shifting funding and power to local and refugee-led initiatives. Building equitable partnerships with full transparency is key.

Is it possible for UNHCR and UN agencies to change their approaches?

Change within UN agencies like UNHCR requires a strong internal commitment to examine and reform their own systems, policies, and power dynamics. While baby steps have been taken, a fundamental internal shift is needed to truly support RLOs equitably.

How can refugee movements be strengthened and better connected?

Connecting refugee movements can be facilitated by moving individuals from survival mode to thriving mode through mental health support and resources. Acknowledging diverse experiences while striving for shared goals, alongside fostering RLO-to-RLO and RLO-to-local government partnerships, is crucial.

Key Moments

From Intentions to Impact: Decolonizing Refugee Response

MIT OpenCourseWare

Education3 min read60 min video

Apr 27, 2022|163 views|3

Migration Summit Displacement Higher Education Refugees Workforce Development

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Key Moments

TL;DR

Decolonizing the refugee response requires shifting power to refugees, challenging systemic racism, and fostering equitable partnerships.

Key Insights

The current forced displacement sector is rooted in colonial systems, structural racism, and bias, leading to the exclusion of refugees.

Historical colonial intentions influenced the creation of the refugee convention, prioritizing European refugees, a bias still evident today.

Systemic racism and discrimination persist through passive terminology, unequal power dynamics, and biased professional cultures within the sector.

Localization efforts often fail because dominant actors are unwilling to relinquish power, control, visibility, and funding.

Decolonizing the sector necessitates acknowledging past and present injustices, embracing a rights-based approach, and fostering genuine allyship.

Equitable partnerships require internal organizational change, trauma-informed practices, relationship-building, and a focus on lived experience as expertise.

THE COLONIAL ROOTS OF THE REFUGEE SECTOR

The forced displacement sector has operated within colonial frameworks for decades, perpetuating structural racism and bias that exclude refugees from agency over their own lives. This historical context, from early missionary work to the establishment of international systems like the UN and the Refugee Convention, reveals how power dynamics have been embedded from the outset. The very definition of a refugee was initially debated with a bias towards European experiences, reflecting a 'West over the Rest' mentality. This inherent bias continues to manifest in present-day responses, starkly contrasting aid for European refugees with that for those from the Global South.

PERPETUATING SYSTEMIC RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION

Contemporary practices within the refugee sector continue to reflect deep-seated structural racism. Aid predominantly flows from former colonial powers to formerly colonized regions, and passive terminology like 'capacity building' and 'beneficiaries' often masks a patronizing view of non-Western populations. Refugee-led organizations frequently experience re-traumatization when engaging with international actors. Exclusionary practices, such as citing 'conflict of interest' to bar refugees from decision-making roles, highlight a problematic power imbalance where an organization's existence may depend on the refugee crisis it aims to address.

BARRIERS TO TRUE INCLUSION AND LOCALIZATION

Dominant professional cultures in the sector, often characterized by fluency in English and rigid timelines, create significant barriers for local and refugee-led initiatives. These requirements can lead to 'code-switching' and adaptation by refugees, rather than genuine inclusion. Moreover, expatriate staff often receive disproportionately higher pay than local staff for similar work. Funding distribution overwhelmingly favors large international organizations, with less than one percent reaching local actors. The common justification for this is a perceived lack of 'capacity' among local groups, a claim that ignores the systematic starvation of these very groups from resources.

THE DISCONNECT BETWEEN INTENTIONS AND IMPACT

While many well-intentioned efforts like the Grand Bargain and the Global Refugee Forum aim for localization, progress remains slow. This stagnation is largely due to a fundamental unwillingness among dominant actors to cede power, control, visibility, and access to resources. There is a critical need to bridge this gap between stated localization goals and the reality of power consolidation. Without acknowledging the historical context and the ongoing impact of systemic issues, genuine change is impossible. Connecting the refugee rights movement with broader anti-racism, feminist, and decolonization movements is crucial for progress.

MOVING TOWARDS EQUITABLE PARTNERSHIPS AND AGENCY

Addressing power dynamics requires a conscious shift towards equitable partnerships, acknowledging that a rights-based approach is fundamental to empowering those affected by displacement. This involves extensive individual and organizational learning, unlearning, and reflection. Practices such as developing trauma-informed approaches, prioritizing relationship-building over projects, and actively shifting funding and resources to local actors are essential. Organizations must examine their internal structures, including recruitment and evaluation processes, to ensure they are inclusive and value lived experience as expertise.

THE ROLE OF ALLIES AND TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE

Decolonizing the refugee response is not about individuals losing their jobs but about embracing allyship and actively dismantling oppressive systems. This requires taking responsibility for perpetuating these systems, consciously or unconsciously, and becoming active agents for change. It means questioning one's role and added value, ensuring actions do not cause further harm, and recognizing the past. Movements led by those most affected, like women's rights or Black Lives Matter, demonstrate that self-determination leads to impactful change. The refugee rights movement must also be unequivocally led by refugees, shifting focus from humanitarianism to a robust, rights-based approach that fosters agency and self-representation.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Organizations

●Books

●Concepts

●People Referenced

Decolonizing Refugee Response: Key Principles

Practical takeaways from this episode

Do This

Use person-first language (e.g., 'persons of forced displacement' instead of 'refugees' when not in a legal context).

Acknowledge the history of colonialism and its impact on the current refugee system.

Understand that true decolonization requires internal work, unlearning, and systemic change within organizations.

Prioritize relationship-building over project-based work.

Shift funding and resources directly to local and refugee-led organizations (RLOs).

Ensure transparency and accountability in financial partnerships.

Provide accessible language, translation, and support across different time zones.

Embrace trauma-informed approaches in all interactions.

Evaluate experience beyond formal years, valuing lived experience of forced displacement.

Actively practice allyship by learning, mobilizing others, and speaking up.

Ensure RLOs have full approval over budgets and funding applications.

Consider the dignity and cultural appropriateness of images used for fundraising.

Promote a rights-based approach that empowers individuals with agency.

Avoid This

Avoid defaulting to the term 'refugee' without considering 'persons of forced displacement'.

Do not solely focus on intentions; impact and systemic change are paramount.

Avoid using passive terminology like 'capacity building' to imply deficiencies in non-white populations.

Do not treat beneficiaries as solely refugees; recognize the income generated by humanitarian work.

Do not exclude individuals with lived experience of displacement from decision-making processes.

Do not rely on fluency in English or strict timelines as primary funding criteria.

Avoid the 'white savior complex' in imagery and narratives.

Do not perpetuate colonial power structures by holding onto control, visibility, and funding.

Do not dismiss the systemic nature of racism and bias by saying 'not all of us'.

Do not prioritize efficiency over actual impact and inclusivity.

Do not assume expertise from a distance when individuals with proximity possess invaluable lived knowledge.

Do not limit refugee rights by focusing only on humanitarian aid instead of political rights.

Do not avoid challenging or changing internal systems and policies that create barriers for local partners.

Humanitarian Funding Allocation

Data extracted from this episode

Funding Source	Total Circulating	Percentage to Local Actors	Year
Humanitarian System	$30 billion	< 1%	2019 (Hamington Report)

Common Questions

Decolonizing the refugee response means dismantling historical and ongoing colonial power structures within the aid sector. It involves shifting power, resources, and decision-making back to the individuals and communities most affected by forced displacement.

Topics

Power Dynamics Society & Philosophy Refugee Rights Humanitarian Aid Refugee-led Organizations Politics & Policy Systemic Racism Equitable Partnerships

Mentioned in this video

Organizations

Assad regime

The regime that forcibly displaced Sana Mustafa.

US government

Mentioned in the context of its localization agenda for humanitarian efforts and for its past interventions, like promoting democracy in Iraq.

MIT Refugee Action Hub

One of the organizers of the Migration Summit.

Global Refugee Led Network

A global effort focused on representation and inclusion of forcibly displaced persons, co-led by Sana Mustafa.

MIT Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab

One of the organizers of the Migration Summit.

United Nations

Mentioned in the context of its creation and its role in establishing international conventions like the Refugee Convention.

Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative

An initiative and coalition of refugee-led organizations aiming to shift philanthropic power and document evidence of impact.

Egypt

Mentioned as a location where UNHCR reportedly denied entry to refugee-led organization staff due to a perceived conflict of interest.

Halton Foundation

A foundation that provided significant funding (around $12 million) to the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative.

Nawal Karam Foundation

One of the organizers of the Migration Summit.

Quran Foundation

Sana Mustafa is on the board of this foundation.

Asylum Access

An organization where Sana Mustafa serves as Director of Partnerships and Engagement, focusing on fundraising and partnerships with refugee-led organizations.

UNHCR

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Criticized for its practices, perceived conflict of interest issues, and slow adoption of systemic changes towards decolonization and equitable partnerships.

LSE

Mentioned as a source for an article discussing key issues around hiring, funding, and programming for local CSOs and RLOs.

Locations

India

Mentioned as one of the decolonized states that challenged the initial draft of the Refugee Convention.

Ukraine

Mentioned in the context of the West's response to refugees from Ukraine, highlighting a perceived difference in treatment compared to refugees from majority-world countries.

Iraq

Mentioned as one of the decolonized states that challenged the initial draft of the Refugee Convention.

Pakistan

Mentioned as one of the decolonized states that challenged the initial draft of the Refugee Convention.

People

Dmitry Fidelma

Co-chair of the Migration Summit and speaker.

Sana Mustafa

Keynote speaker, described as a Syrian feminist, human rights defender, and inclusion activist. Co-led the establishment of the Global Refugee Led Network and is currently Director of Partnerships and Engagement at Asylum Access.

Chris and Lena Lam

Private donors who contributed to the funding of the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative.

Books

Asylum Access Position Paper

Published in December 2021, it details learnings on building equitable partnerships with local actors.

Hamington Report

A report from 2019 cited for its statistics on humanitarian funding, indicating that less than 1% goes to local actors.

Legislation & Policy

Refugee Convention

A foundational document discussed in relation to its drafting history, which initially focused on European refugees and was later expanded.

Concepts

Grand Bargain