Addressing the challenge of forced displacement

Proposals should investigate the medium and long-term socioeconomic dimensions of mass displacement when forcibly displaced persons concentrate in camps and hosting areas or settle in unprotected and underprepared urban settings. They should also consider the socio-psychological dimensions of forced displacement and gender-related issues. Through comparative research inside and outside Europe on reception and settlement strategies and their impact on livelihoods, proposals should assess medium and long-term trends and impacts and analyse opportunities and challenges for displaced people and for hosting communities as well as the potential for and resistance to the integration of displaced persons. They should also assess existing and historical practices and develop solutions to ease the pressure on hosting communities. The interface between responses to refugee emergencies, local integration and development should be explored, including testing of innovative practices to foster dialogue and build trust and resilience among refugees and host communities alike.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU in the order of EUR 3 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Tens of millions of people live in forced displacement, many of them in protracted refugee and displacement situations for long periods of time and even generations. This is often accepted, albeit reluctantly, as a semi-permanent state of affairs given that return as a solution to forced displacement rarely takes place. The situation affects life trajectories of displaced people and poses multiple challenges for social, economic, urban and environmental services and for local investments and labour markets.

The action will identify solutions for protracted displacement situations, also in the framework of the EU Partnership Agreements and of the United Nations and the EU migration and refugee compacts. By mapping the dynamics of interactions between the displaced and the host community and bringing it to the attention of policymakers, it will enhance policy responses to integration needs.