Policy revised to shed light on urban refugee blind-spot

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, is taking a fresh look at its policy for urban refugees amid concerns that it is not meeting their particular needs. Following numerous revisions to the 1997 ‘Policy on Refugees in Urban Areas’ over the years, the latest round of workshops to amend the policy was conducted in Pretoria, South Africa, this week. UNHCR regional representative, Ebrima Camara, acknowledged that for asylum seekers and refugees in urban environments the policy "falls critically short of addressing some of the fundamental challenges", such as "access to national public services and the countries economy". Camara said that UNHCR had expected governments to play a more significant role in protecting urban refugees but that many African countries lacked the resources or did not have the necessary legislation in place. Critics contend that the 1997 policy is unrealistic because it is based on a misguided blanket assumption that most refugees simply should not be living in urban areas. "In Africa, many countries use designated areas or a camp set-up to manage refugees, but the reality is that some people don't 'fit' into these areas, especially in countries where freedom of movement is allowed. Many end up in urban areas because of rural-urban migration and family reunification, for example," UNHCR deputy representative, Abel Mbilinyi, told IRIN. Where as the old policy put the "focus on the individual, now it will look at broader issues and incorporate a human rights and community-based approach", he added. "A policy needs to evolve with new developments and this last attempt focuses on the region of Southern Africa - there is a need to adopt a new policy," Mbilinyi remarked.