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There are 30 million refugees around the world. Humanitarian agencies aim for one of three durable solutions for them: voluntary repatriation, local integration, and resettlement, with repatriation being the preferred solution. However, the authors find that only one-third of refugees return home after ten years. Returns have not kept pace with new displacement. The status quo is a growing global population of displaced people living in limbo without full citizenship rights, and with their host countries experiencing ever-greater political and economic strains of hosting them. The need to find new solutions to facilitate safe refugee return has become more urgent. The authors aim to address this need by examining barriers to, and facilitators of, the safe and sustained return of refugees. The authors examined evidence from the literature about refugee returns; conducted interviews with global experts; examined cross-national data trends from 53 cases; and conducted case studies of refugee returns in the Western Balkan countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, as well as the Kurdistan Region–Iraq, involving focus groups with returned refugees. The authors found that, despite the intent of global humanitarian and development communities, most refugees are unable to return or find another durable solution even after decades of displacement. The authors offer recommendations to governments, donors, and international organizations, recommending that the three durable solutions be pursued in combination with, and accompanied by, efforts to develop a greater menu of interim solutions with robust international support to promote the well-being of refugees and their host communities.

Refugees --- Government policy. --- International cooperation.

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Since Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem after the 1967 war, the vast majority of Palestinian residents of the city have boycotted participation in municipal elections to avoid legitimating Israeli rule. Nevertheless, recent polls suggest that some Palestinians living in East Jerusalem might be warming to the idea of voting in the city's elections. To examine possible consequences of Jerusalem's Palestinians ending their electoral boycott, a team from the RAND Corporation conducted a seminar-style game in Jerusalem in partnership with the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research. The game, held in July 2018, involved Israeli and Palestinian policy experts from Jerusalem representing various stakeholders in the city's politics and governance simulating multiple scenarios that diverge from the status quo. The results of the game suggest that the Israeli and municipal governments would welcome increased Palestinian turnout as long as it was not too high, and that Palestinian city councilors would likely be able to make progress toward improving day-to-day municipal services in Palestinian neighborhoods but would not be able to reverse such policies as home demolitions or residency permit revocations.

Voting --- Political participation --- Abstention.

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Three previous RAND volumes examined the record of American-, United Nations (UN)-, and European-led peacekeeping, peace enforcement, and postconflict stabilization operations. This volume considers similar missions by the African Union and several subregional African organizations. These missions range from mediation and traditional peacekeeping to peace enforcement and extended counterinsurgency campaigns. This report contains case studies of six of these missions in Burundi, the Central African Republic, Darfur, the Comoros, Somalia, and the Lake Chad Basin. The case studies are followed by a statistical comparison of U.S., UN, European, and African missions. The report concludes with recommendations for the relevant African institutions, the UN, and other organizations and governments interested in peace and security in Africa.Of the six missions examined, two were ultimately successful, and three have shown some progress. What is most remarkable and commendable about Africa's institutional role in regional peace operations is the level of cooperation generally achieved among the states most directly affected by these conflicts. African countries do not all agree with one another but instead have established effective consultation processes. They are also able to form ad hoc coalitions to pursue their shared interests. African-led peace operations have shown the flexibility to undertake a range of different types of tasks, up to and including high-intensity combat, under different subregional or continent-wide institutions, supported by varying partners. African institutions will likely develop new capabilities for peace operations, especially if new funds become available.

Peace-building --- Peacekeeping forces, African --- Africa.