On Monday June 20, Rwanda joined the world to celebrate World Refugee day. Unlike in the past, the ministry in charge put together a panel discussion to “rethink… durable solutions for refugees.”

All the panelists, including yours truly, agreed that, indeed, the prevailing solutions to the refugee question need to be reconsidered.

You see, the refugee convention of 1951 considers solutions to refugees to revolve around three areas: Voluntary repatriation, integration in local communities and resettlement to third countries.

However, while these strategies have helped many, they have neither contained nor solved the problem. Instead, the problem has worsened as has intolerance to refugees.

According to UNHCR, there are far more refugees and displaced people today than at any other time in history. Estimates put the number at 65.3 million today, down from 59.5 million in 2014. And, there is evidence to suggest the problem will deteriorate as 42,500 individuals become refugees every day.

Part of the solution, therefore, is in realising that today’s circumstances are different from what they were in 1951 to warrant a rethink. This relates not only to what to do with refugees but also how to mitigate and, if possible, remove conditions that cause the problem in the first place.

In 1951, when the convention was adopted, there were far less nations than we have today and, yes, comparatively, there were less violent conflicts and persecution than today.

In addition, perhaps due to the devastating effects of the Second World War and its lessons, empathy and solidarity for refugees was very high at the time.

Today, however, solidarity and empathy for refugees is in retreat as is responsibility. In their place, a wave of intolerance for refugees is washing across nations amid growing economic hardships and the rise of politicians with their ultra-nationalistic beliefs.

As a result, welcoming refugees has become a problem: Countries in Europe close their borders; in the US debates abound as to whether to receive Muslim refugees at all while in Kenya refugee camps are being closed.

Yet, reflectively, neither the closure of borders nor refugee camps nor any other form of intolerance can solve the problem.

The solution to the refugee problem is in four ways: First, nations should recommit to the refugee convention and, instead of fanning frames of intolerance or bills to limit entry, invest in empathy and responsibility to look after refugees.

Secondly, there is a need to invest in preventive rather than reactive measures. That is, investing in early warning and acting on them for most causes of the problem are human, like war and persecution and, in some cases, before any violent conflict erupts, it is in cases known and could be mitigated.

For instance, the Burundi crisis or the DRC 1996 refugee crisis could have been prevented if there were political will and consensus among major political players to resolve the conflict.

Preventive measures should also involve invoking the principle of the responsibility to protect; where, for example, citizens are endangered by a leadership that feels it has the right to treat its citizens the way it wants, including persecution in the name of “protecting national sovereignty”.

Thirdly, there is a need to deeply think about and reduce the current global inequality and poverty, which, in some cases, is a major source of refugees as individuals and families seek to escape inhuman life conditions.

The current global (and national) economy, where, according to Oxfam, 62 individuals have more wealth than 3.6 billion people and one per cent of the world population controls 99 per cent of global wealth, inevitably create refugees as economic migrants.

Lastly, a long-term solution should be sought in encouraging, investing in and promoting democratic rule. For evidence shows that most refugees come from non-democratic polities where life itself is a gift from the ruler.

Democracy as the durable solution is more plausible considering that, even where resettlement and reintegration has taken place, individuals forced out of their countries of birth never give up their right to “original” citizenship; they fight for it through supporting armed groups seeking to overthrow dictatorship.

Christopher Kayumba, PhD. Senior Lecturer, School of Journalism and Communication, UR; Lead consultant, MGC Consult International Ltd. E-mail: [email protected]; twitter account: @Ckayumba Website:www.mgcconsult.com