Supporting meaningful refugee participation at all levels

The global refugee crisis has become one of the most pressing humanitarian challenges of our time. In 2023, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has estimated that there will be 117.2 million displaced or stateless people worldwide. The demand for urgent needs, assistance and protection is unprecedented. Crises the world over keep this number growing every day in Sudan, Syria and Ukraine, amongst others, and yet the traditional approach to providing aid to refugees has remained largely the same: often top-down, with little or no meaningful participation of refugees in the decision-making process that affects their futures. This approach has limited the effectiveness of aid and support for refugees, leading to a call for more meaningful participation of refugees in the humanitarian sector. It also dangerously serves to perpetuate colonial power dynamics and sustain cycles of dependency.

Cohere has been working with refugee communities in East Africa since 2008, formerly as Xavier Project. Despite having worked closely with refugee communities for years before, it was in 2016 in Uganda when our team connected with some refugee-led groups in Kampala and in Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement in southwest Uganda.

The organisation in Rwamwanja, Tomorrow Vijana, started as a group of teachers who understood that their community needed to learn English (the national language of Uganda) in order to live more independently and start small businesses. They started regular lessons under the shade of a large tree in the settlement. Our partnership with them began there. Through close collaboration and learning together we became acutely aware of the numerous barriers that existed that limited their participation and their ability to serve their community in the way that they felt was best. As we connected with other refugee-led organisations (RLOs) across Kenya and Uganda, we saw more and more potential and recognised that often these groups were facing similar barriers. It was a transformative time for our organisation, reflecting both on the limitations of our own response and role over the years, as well as the sector’s response more generally. We could see the gaps in funding, capacity, coordination and advocacy, and we wanted to work together with our partners to fill them.

Learning and evolving

One of our main solutions was to develop a Capacity Strengthening and Sharing course that supported these organisations with a range of courses including Governance, Resource Mapping and Financial Management. Each module responded to specific challenges that our partners were having on the ground. Thanks to the support of multiple donors we were able to offer small grants to our partners to enable them to expand their projects and grow their organisations. These RLOs achieved more with this money than what Cohere could have done with it; the RLOs’ response was more relevant for their contexts and, because it was led by them, it was more sustainable. For example, Tomorrow Vijana, the refugee-led group in Rwamwanja, was able to build a three-classroom hub for 30% less than it would have cost Cohere. It was able to source cheaper local materials and its own community members made the bricks.

In 2019, we began shifting all of our efforts to focus on supporting the needs of our RLO partners and the projects they were leading and to stop our own direct implementation. As the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the globe in 2020, we saw many humanitarian organisations forced to put a halt to many of their interventions. In East Africa we were able to continue our work because our partners were on the ground, delivering and responding specifically to the needs of their communities during lockdowns. This monumental global shift strengthened our case, further demonstrating that the localisation of humanitarian response was not just better but critical, especially during emergencies.

In order for refugees to lead their own responses, their power and influence cannot just sit at the local level, they have to participate in all levels of decision-making. In 2022, we produced a report, Addressing five barriers to implement ‘Meaningful Refugee Participation’ in the Refugee Response,which precisely identifies what the humanitarian sector needs to consider to go beyond just including refugees, and instead ensure meaningful participation.

What is refugee participation?

When refugees — regardless of location, legal recognition, gender, identity and demographics — are prepared for and participating in fora and processes where strategies are being developed and/or decisions are being made (including at local, national, regional, and global levels, and especially when they facilitate interactions with host states, donors, or other influential bodies), in a manner that is ethical, sustained, safe, and supported financially.

Global Refugee-led Network definition

From our experience through close partnership with refugee-led organisations, we have observed that there tends to be a spectrum of how ‘refugee participation’ is defined, ranging from tokenistic to real refugee leadership. It is for humanitarian agencies to implement this approach on a local level, but it takes much bigger shifts and compromise to meaningfully realise this on national and global levels. This was identified as a key barrier in our report findings. This spectrum of meaning has often distorted progress within the sector and even perpetuates some of the barriers to participation. Humanitarian actors can believe they are enabling refugee participation, when in fact it is selective and restrictive. For example, there tends to be handpicking of refugee spokespeople to contribute in predefined ways in specific fora. This explains why so much emphasis has been placed on what makes the participation ‘meaningful’. At Cohere, our focus has tended to be on refugee leadership and refugee-led initiatives rather than solely participation, because it gives more agency and ownership to refugees. The emphasis is on refugees holding power and not just measuring participation.

Cohere’s understanding of the degrees of meaningful refugee participation has been strengthened by referencing the Global Refugee Network’s Eight Step Ladder of Refugee Participation. The ladder identifies the least to the most meaningful levels of participation, with each step progressing closer to international organisations ceding decision-making powers and working more equitably with refugee leaders. It is a valuable tool to reference in all levels of design and implementation across organisations. If an organisation is not equally sharing power with refugees and RLOs when it develops or implements a programme, then it is not meaningful. This tool has also helped us look beyond our own measurements of success and consider our progress in relation to greater and more ambitious shifts. We know that Cohere and other international organisations, which hold power and resources in the field of forced displacement response, must make conscious shifts in our position to make space for refugees to step in, and refugees must be enabled to do so. It has to be about shifting the power dynamics rather than just sharing. That is where real and meaningful change will happen.

Why is meaningful participation essential?

‘Responses are most effective when they meaningfully involve those they are intended to protect and assist’ [see Global Compact on Refugees]. So nothing for us is without us, because we believe that when we’re involved in decision-making the response will be more effective. Refugees are experts of the challenges they are facing and they know better than anyone what they really need to be able to reach their full potential.

Paul – RLO Bondeko Livelihoods Centre, Kampala, Uganda

Meaningful participation has considerable benefits for refugees, as well as strengthening partnerships and the effectiveness of interventions. It allows refugees to exercise their right to self-determination, which is enshrined in international law. By participating in decision-making processes, refugees are able to shape their own future and the future of their communities. This, in turn, helps to build their sense of agency, which is critical for their wellbeing and self-worth. Meaningful participation enhances the quality, the effectiveness and the sustainability of humanitarian interventions. It is well known that in crises local community members are the first and last responders. They can understand the needs and priorities of their communities better than anyone. Not centring programme design and implementation on refugees’ experience, knowledge and understanding is a missed opportunity, but it also risks being destructive. Refugee participation can lead to more effective and sustainable solutions that address the root causes of displacement and support refugees in rebuilding their lives.

This process also helps to nurture trust between refugees and humanitarian actors. By involving refugees in decision-making processes, humanitarian providers can demonstrate their commitment to transparency, accountability, and respect for refugees’ rights and dignity. For this reason, in 2022, we at Cohere introduced a Refugee Advisory Board to our governance structures. Having oversight and input from refugees enhances our work and adds different layers of accountability and expertise to our coordination and approach. We have also changed our recruitment processes to ensure that people with lived experience of displacement are prioritised. This gives space to cooperation on shifting the power imbalance between refugees and various stakeholders, and promotes more collaborative and mutually respectful relationships. At Cohere, we believe one of our most useful roles in partnerships is creating space for our partners. Space for them to lead, to design, to learn, to grow, and to decide for themselves and their communities.

The barriers to ‘meaningful refugee participation’

Refugees are best placed to speak about the challenges that they face, and equally they should be able to control or give priority recommendations and engage in the full process of decision-making in the project and programmes developed for them.

Jean Marie, Youth Voice Community

In our aforementioned 2022 report, our research identified and investigated the challenges that are limiting refugee participation in decision-making processes. These barriers include divergent conceptualisations of what ‘meaningful participation’ is, requirements for impartiality and representativeness, challenges related to skills and organisational cultures, and restrictive national regulatory frameworks. Just like the Global Refugee Network’s ladder for participation, we hope these barriers can inspire reflection from other organisations in the sector to do better.

The barriers can be categorised into four main areas.

Barrier 1: Divergences in conceptualisation and mechanisms

One major barrier is the lack of a common conceptual framework and guidelines for meaningful participation. This has led to divergent interpretations of what meaningful participation is and mechanisms developed by responding organisations RLOs. There are variations in the degrees of refugee participation, phases of the project cycle where participation is sought, and internal versus external participation. To address this barrier, it is recommended that organisations adopt a common definition of meaningful participation and commit to diversity, equity and inclusion values.

Barrier 2: Requirements for impartiality and representativeness

There are significant barriers relating to impartiality, representativeness and confidentiality of refugee leaders. Concerns about conflicts of interest, selection processes, and privileging certain communities pose obstacles to refugee participation. The requirements for full impartiality and representativeness were questioned as being impossible and potentially used as excuses to exclude refugees from high-level decision-making. It is suggested that organisations base selection criteria on skills, develop inclusive governance mechanisms, and have conversations on reducing the gap between refugees in leadership positions and the populations they serve.

Barrier 3: Skills and organisational cultures

The study found that challenges related to skills and workplace cultures impact the implementation of participation pledges. Difficulties were reported relating to finding qualified refugee candidates, acclimatising them to organisational cultures, and providing ongoing support. Also highlighted in the report were the recruitment criteria that favour privileged backgrounds, and the perception of hypocrisy in advocating for refugee-led solutions but failing to recruit refugees. Recommendations include adopting inclusive recruitment strategies, revisiting human-resource policies and workplace cultures, and developing mapping and database programmes for refugee talents.

Barrier 4: Restrictive national regulatory frameworks

National regulations that restrict refugee access to rights and services pose significant barriers to meaningful participation. Respondents reported adapting participation pledges to comply with legal restrictions. In countries where refugees lack legal recognition, risks and operational challenges hinder their inclusion in high-level management and compensation mechanisms. Work permit requirements and limited access to rights in practice also discourage the recruitment of refugee staff. Proposed solutions include: advocacy efforts to address these restrictive frameworks, documenting the outcomes of refugee staff inclusion, and engaging with universities for more flexibility in refugee enrolment.

The recommendations aim to address the barriers and promote the adoption of inclusive practices; diversity, equity and inclusion values within humanitarian organisations, and collaborative efforts with refugee-led organisations to ensure meaningful refugee participation. The process has also exposed our own gaps in these areas and where we are failing in our mission, but it is also providing a framework for shifting our work.

Walking the walk

Refugees like me are aware that the international community is realizing that there is a need for refugees to have a greater say in the responses and policies that affect them. There has been some progress toward greater inclusion, but it has been slow. In reality, we are still largely excluded from most meetings and conversations about the very programs designed to help us.

Jonas Ndayisenga Proud-Lion, Co-Founder & CEO, Umoja Refugee Group, Nairobi, Kenya

There has been much discussion on the topic of meaningful participation, but we know that it is through action that we will learn to do better. As an organisation we are dedicated to shifting the way we work to make it more equitable; to being self-reflective on what and how we can do better; and to trialling new ways of working so we can find more efficient solutions that put refugees in charge, both internally in our organisation and externally in the sector. We recognise that meaningful refugee participation will make that happen quicker and more effectively.

Off the back of our report we are working with a collection of refugees, other non-governmental organisations and the United Nations to build a Community of Practice and open a forum for ongoing dialogue that we hope will serve to address the barriers and untangle the complexities of some of these issues. We hope that together we will find a better way forward, one that puts refugees in the driving seat. Today, Tomorrow Vijana has an annual operating budget of $270,000 (unprecedented for a small RLO based in Uganda), and is now reaching over 18,648 refugees across the settlement. They are defining their futures, on their terms.

You can read out report here. We have also created a series of short videos for refugee-led organisations that highlight ways of overcoming the barriers with donors – watch them below.

Christina Thompson is the Communications Director at Cohere. They consulted a number of Cohere’s partners for the development of this article.