IMPACT OF REFUGEE CRISIS ON HUMAN SECURITY IN WEST AFRICA

IMPACT OF REFUGEE CRISIS ON HUMAN SECURITY IN WEST AFRICA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION 

1.1      Background of the study

Human security, in its extensive sense, covers far more than the absence of violent conflict. It comprises human rights, good governance, access to education and health care and making each individual has opportunities and choices to fulfill his or her potential. Human security, human right, etc reduces poverty and also helps in achieving economic growth and prevents conflict. Freedom from want, freedom from fear, and the freedom of future generations to inherit a healthy natural environment these are the interrelated building blocks of human security and therefore national security.

Threats to human security could be political and military, social, economic or environmental. A broad array of factors contribute to making people feel insecure,from the laying of land mines and the proliferation of small arms, to transnational threats such as drugs trafficking, to the spread of HIV. One of the main factors of human insecurity is precisely the lack of effective political and security mechanisms to address conflicts. Human security can be said to have two main aspects. It means, first, safety from such dangerous threats as hunger, disease and repression. And second, it means protection from sudden and hurtful disruptions in the patterns of daily life whether in homes, in jobs or in communities. These threats can exist at all levels of national income and development. Economic security, food security, health security, environmental security, personal security, community security, political securities are lists of some threats to human security.

The issue of human displacement in Africa is broad and possibly growing rapidly. A great deal of qualitative evidence suggests that the situation of Africa’s displaced people is becoming increasingly problematic and that those who succeed in escaping from their country are unable to find a safe refugee in other states. With the increase in armed conflicts in Africa and the West Africa Sub-Region there exist various dimensions of environmental, social and security challenges posed by refugee influx into most countries of Africa. Refugees tend to impact on the safety of various nation states. Recent work confirms the instinct that political violence and persecution are significant determinants of flight. Yet, refugees are not simply the unfortunate by-products of war, but may serve as catalysts for conflicts, including conflict between states. Scholars have suggested that refugee migration can provoke international hostilities between states, including military action although this claim has not been rigorously tested. For instance, it is argued that Rwanda invasion of Zaire in 1996 was largely motivated by the desire to clear refugee camps that harbored militant factions. Refugee crises do not only bring about humanitarian disasters but also create serious implications for Border States and host communities. According to Bobbin, and Garrett (2006), the terms internal or domestic and civil conflict imply violent interactions between states and dissidents, and the negative consequences of war and human rights violations, contained within the states.

IMPACT OF REFUGEE CRISIS ON HUMAN SECURITY IN WEST AFRICA