Urban refugee

An urban refugee is a refugee who decided or was obliged to settle in an urban area rather than in a refugee camp in the country or territory where the person fled to. More than 60% of the world's refugee population and 80% of internally displaced persons (IDP) under UNHCR mandate live in urban environments.[1] In 2009, their number was around 5.5 million people. "Urban refugee" is not a recognized legal term in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. However, the UNHCR has adopted a 'Policy on Refugee Protection and Solutions in Urban Areas' in 2009.[2]

Urban refugees are among the most vulnerable groups in low income countries. According to UNHCR, the urban refugee population worldwide is very diverse, comprising a large number of women, children, and older people who have particular protection challenges. The urban refugee population face specific protecting needs attendant to urban environments: they may lack access to services, health, education and are often confronted to xenophobic attitudes in their country of asylum.

The overwhelming majority of refugees living in urban areas are to be found in the poorest and more conflict-affected regions of the world. Africa and Asia concentrate the highest number of urban refugee populations. Some war-affected countries host a huge number of both urban internally displaced people and refugees in capital cities (such as Kampala or Khartoum). Urban displaced people also live in the main cities of their country of origin: after protracted exile, many returnees prefer settling back as IDPs in cities and towns of their own country upon return.

Since around 2017, the UNHCR prioritizes urban refugees for resettlement over those refugees living in refugee camps. In Kenya, for example, only refugees living in Nairobi are submitted for resettlement places, and not those refugees living in the refugee camp site of Kakuma or Dadaab. However, Kenya's national refugee policy requires all refugees to live in camps, though this requirement is not strongly enforced.[3]

Reasons for living in urban areas

Reasons for living in urban settings rather than in refugee camps could be specific medical care needs that cannot be provided for in camps, poor and uncertain conditions in camps,[4] or higher than average educational achievements and aspirations, as camps do not provide many higher education opportunities. There is insufficient physical and material security in some camps. Certain groups of refugees, such as LGBTI refugees and women at high risk of gender-based violence, especially cannot be sufficiently protected from other refugees in the camps.[5] Or it could simply be the fact that the state or territory where refugees fled to does not run refugee camps (e.g. Syria or Egypt). Some refugees leave camps in search of better economic opportunities in urban centres and to avoid being dependent on aid rations.[6] Some even move back and forth between urban centres and refugee camps to get the best of both.

A disadvantage is that the UNHCR and other aid agencies cannot legally protect and support refugees dispersed in urban settings as much as in camps.

Notable urban refugee settlements

Urban refugees by country and population size
Populations of UNHCR refugees in urban areas between 2014 and 2006
Country Urban area 2014 [7] 2013 [13] 2012 [14] 2011 [15] 2010 [16] 2009 [17] 2008 [18] 2007 [19] 2006 [20]
AngolaLuanda12,30012,32311,31511,09615,89514,9902,638
ArgentinaBuenos Aires4,3104,025
ArmeniaYerevan16,81812,7297,3853,6794,0871,6821,8611,79851,330
AzerbaijanBaku203,906195,824189,9661,7933,9812,170186,909166,489164,650
BrazilRio de Janeiro1,7951,8992,2622,1062,103
BrazilSao Paulo5,5273,2892,5301,9981,795
Burkina FasoOuagadougou1,5971,7341,2111,0651,0581,1611,1331,267
BurundiBujumbura22,78922,66221,90123,48521,25312,2279,30712,7739,986
CongoBrazzaville12,2938,0897,0196,5478,5498,7037,1858,6303,493
Côte d'IvoireAbidjan1,5851,8101,6994,5463,7383,5833,585483,931485,466
Democratic Republic of CongoKinshasa2,32510,38110,44715,84015,83815,81625,57125,60528,451
EgyptAlexandria28,50529,7853,514
EgyptCairo51,12642,44815,546101,40598,602107,913112,605112,515104,467
EgyptGiza16,97614,6485,1016,0025,131
EthiopiaAddis Ababa6,0424,8134,3462,6402,8221,8021,5261,014
GabonLibreville1,3942,1672,3085,1534,5274,3384,3324,0893,939
GhanaAccra2,7972,5603,9564,3441,0407401,2832,1515,865
IndiaDelhi30,93926,39622,05020,48418,56917,88115,04213,83512,241
IndonesiaJakarta1,9611,5201,2682,567
IraqBabylon16,98636,14448,09256,00263,086
IraqBaghdad11,746263,485480,336489,496428,647707,23510,57513,02014,381
ThailandBangkok8,5984,1122,4232,0726,7026,9446,4666,4246,481
TurkeyAnkara1,3822,352
UgandaKampala72,01943,37969,47642,50037,82026,99418,3774,9924,646
SyriaDamascus456,22524,46152,24080,30549,647
SenegalDakar4,3133,8493,6913,8192,9123,5703,5953,4563,595
LibyaTripoli36,86832,16913,61713,02511,11712,3224,754
MacedoniaSkopje1,2901,4681,6101,6722,3101,4741,6211,7011,790
KoreaSeoul3,4302,3731,7621,3641,2431,220
MoroccoRabat1,3511,0721,0911,2351,457
MexicoMexico City1,3951,5671,3311,0731,6652,578
Sierra LeoneKenema2,0271,9472,2561,6221,9882,303
SudanKassala4,6144,8674,9064,9104,7896,0006,000
South SudanJuba6,0715,8195,255
TurkeyIstanbul13,7845,6742,9952,9792,0391,7372,8052,7722,305
PakistanIslamabad34,40835,22734,31635,56736,78732,15632,94035,041
SomaliaHargeisa8,9429,2246,6943,7412,5631,546
ZimbabweHarare1,19815,2651,0991,0401,0541,2221,370
Sierra LeoneFreetown1,8242,2242,2341,8811,6862,821
AfghanistanKabul60,88155,491130,761147,037133,42613,47038,74030,67034,517
NigerNiamey5,2588,0267,038
KenyaNairobi51,27050,40053,37352,47246,60746,31636,51535,08335,007
GabonMoanda1,0781,4671,5061,5621,6601,551
MozambiqueMaputo2,3682,3672,3802,3711,6931,5301,5241,5161,297
TogoLomé2,5301,8026,5883,2066606221,5821,4601,770
NigeriaLagos9641,7073,0975,1145,3014,9754,3853,4924,400
MalaysiaKuala Lumpur190,621260,552101,83697,61892,85776,41945,99839,51146,356
RwandaKigali2,3202,0511,9332,0612,0601,9622,4133,3246,775
SudanKhartoum72,01736,26031,96910,6619,78231,32518,241911,664
VenezuelaCaracas1,8461,6331,4351,148
VietnamHo Chi Minh City7,2007,2007,2007,2007,2007,200
YemenAden50,09250,98167,710140,53223,59613,93213,83414,13413,102
Yemen'Amran71,54841,91839,78040,45237,38730,000
YemenSana'a92,74187,37882,36977,15651,03846,85324,42723,45421,136
YemenMukalla9,3068,8108,6628,1075,7572,6462,6462,646692

References
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