Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
45
Yemen by sea increased from 91,592 to 92,466.154 This is increasingly paired with high
numbers of arrivals of Yemenis in the Horn of Africa – up to 86,740 in Djibouti, Ethiopia,
Somalia and Sudan since the Yemeni conflict began in March 2015 from near negligible
numbers in 2014.155 Most Somalis have returned to Somalia, while Yemenis tend to seek
safety in Djibouti.
Finally, the southern route has traditionally been less popular with Eritreans and Somalis than
those above. However, some look to the Republic of South Africa, Kenya, or other southern
African countries as a final destination.156 As these migrants head south, they will typically
join asylum seekers from the major conflicts of Central Africa such as the Democratic Republic
of the Congo and Burundi. Along with high numbers of Somalis, these refugee flows have made
Kenya and Uganda the second- and third-largest refugee-hosting countries in Africa as of the
end of 2015, behind only Ethiopia.157
Greater East Africa: A wide spectrum of the duration and scale of forced displacement
Long-term instability and conflict elsewhere in the region have produced both protracted and
short-term forced displacement. Sudan has been plagued by intermittent civil war since the
country’s independence in 1956, and violence continues to this day in the regions of Darfur,
South Kordofan, and the Blue Nile.158 As of 2015, conflict in Sudan had displaced 3.2 million
people internally, and forced over 600,000 refugees to flee the country—primarily to Chad
and South Sudan.159 Sudan also hosts close to 100,000 Eritrean refugees and 200,000 South
Sudanese refugees, and serve as an important but dangerous transit country for migrants
looking to reach North Africa.160
Often, refugees may flee a conflict, return home when it seems that the situation has improved,
and then once again be forced to migrate should hostilities resume. This phenomenon
describes the plight of many refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),
Burundi, and South Sudan. After years of misrule and corruption under Mobutu Sese Seko,
contagion from the Rwandan genocide plunged the DRC into years of civil war, in what has
been termed “Africa’s Great War.”161 While the Second Congo War was officially declared over
in 2003, violence remained as various armed forces and gangs continued to prey on
were unaware of the scale of the conflict, while others say that smugglers convinced them that the conflict had ended.
Others, possibly a majority, are aware of the risks but move onwards anyways in the hopes of reaching Saudi Arabia for
work. The chaotic situation can even aid the journeys of some, as migrants are less likely to be detected by authorities upon
disembarkment in Yemen. IOM, “Irregular Migration in Horn of Africa Increases in 2015,” (news release, January 26, 2016),
Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat,
Regional Mixed Migration in the Horn of Africa and Yemen in 2015
154 IOM, “Irregular Migration in Horn of Africa Increases in 2015.”
155 IOM, “Irregular Migration in Horn of Africa Increases in 2015.”
156 Horwood and Hooper, Protection on the Move , 7.
157 Yaxley, “Uganda hosts record 500,000 refugees and asylum-seekers,” updated December 18, 2015,
158 Peace Direct, “Sudan: Conflict profile,” Insight on Conflict, updated August 2009,
159 UNHCR, “Population Statistics Database”
160 As of December 31, 2015. UNHCR, “Population Statistics Database”
161 After a Tutsi government gained state control during the Rwandan Genocide, thousands of genocidaires fled to
neighboring Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), often living in UNHCR-run refugee camps. In 1996 Rwanda
invaded Zaire to root out these genocidaires, and placed Congolese rebel Laurent Kabila as the country’s leader. However,
Kabila in turn re-armed the genocidaires, causing Rwanda, with support from Uganda and Burundi, to invade DRC once
again. This would turn into a protracted conflict including the foreign powers of Angola and Zimbabwe. After a peace
agreement in 2002 the war officially ended, though instability remained. The Economist, “A Report from Congo: Africa’s
Great War,” July 4, 2002 Chris McGreal, “The roots of war in eastern Congo,”
The Guardian, May 15, 2008