Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
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donors, and it will thus be important for international donors as well as regional
partner countries to internalize and communicate to publics the implications of
allowing displaced populations to persist, sometimes for generations, in situations of
poverty and vulnerability.
 Emphasize investments in livelihoods and labor market integration . The lack of a
means to earn a living is one of the key challenges facing refugees and their families,
and has implications for their vulnerability in other areas, including access to housing
and education. Governments must thus think hard about how to provide opportunities
for refugees to support themselves, whether through employment or self-driven
economic activities. Again, providing the necessary legislation and regulations to allow
for work—and educating employers and authorities about their provisions—will not
be enough. In most situations, there will be a need for other supporting measures such
as policies to help recognize refugees' credentials or skills, or to help them learn the
local language or update their skills to better match local labor market needs. In
whatever manner governments and service providers (including international
agencies) choose to approach providing such assistance to refugees, it must be done in
an informed and context-sensitive way that takes into account both refugees' existing
capacities and local economic opportunities.
 Data collection on forced migration populations and evaluation of policies and
interventions must be improved. Most national governments do not have
authoritative statistics on the number or characteristics of refugees or IDPs in their
countries, nor do they regularly carry out evaluations on the effects of forced
migration. This is the first and most critical step to being able to design and implement
better policies to serve both host and refugee populations. Moreover, interventions to
assist refugees in accessing livelihoods or benefiting from national services can only
be effective if they are informed by a thorough understanding of what works and what
doesn't and the lessons of past experience. At a minimum, refugee and forced migrant
population should be included in national labor force surveys and other assessments.
In countries where such assessments do not exist or are not reliable, international
agencies such as the World Bank or International Labor Organization may be able to
assist host governments in developing and implementing these critical data collection
tools.