A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees. Camps with over a hundred thousand people are common, but as of 2012 the average-sized camp housed around 11,400. Usually they are built and run by a government, the United Nations, or international organizations, (such as the Red Cross) or NGOs. But there are also unofficial refugee camps, like Idomeni in Greece or the Calais jungle in France, where refugees are largely left without support of governments or international organisations.
Refugee camps generally develop in an impromptu fashion with the aim of meeting basic human needs for only a short time. Due to crowding and lack of infrastructure, some refugee camps can become unhygienic, leading to a high incidence of infectious diseases, including epidemics. If the return of refugees is prevented (often by civil war), a humanitarian crisis can result or continue. "Refugee camp" typically describes a settlement of people who have escaped war in their home country and have fled to a country of first asylum, but some camps also house environmental migrants and economic refugees.
Some refugee camps exist for decades and people can stay in refugee camps for decades, both of which have major implications for human rights. Some camps grow into permanent settlements and even merge with nearby older communities, such as Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanon and Deir al-Balah, Palestine. Refugee camps may sometimes serve as headquarters for the recruitment, support and training of guerilla organizations engaged in fighting in the refugees' area of origin; such organizations often use humanitarian aid to supply their troops. Rwandan refugee camps in Zaire and Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand supported armed groups until their destruction by local military forces.
People may stay in these camps, receiving emergency food and medical aid, until it is safe to return to their home countries. When the situation in their country of origin stabilizes, they can make use of voluntary repatriation programmes. In some cases, often after several years, the host country government may prefer to see that refugees are resettled in "third countries" which accept refugees seeking asylum. In other cases, the host country government may choose to forcibly repatriate refugees to their country of origin, in violation of international law. In rare cases, they may be naturalised by the country they fled to.
Although camps are intended to be temporary, some exist for decades and people can stay there for decades, both of which have major implications for human rights. Some Palestinian refugee camps exist since 1948, camps for Eritreans in Sudan (such as the Shagarab camp) exist since 1968, the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria exist since 1975, camps for Burmese in Thailand (such as the Mae La refugee camp) exist since 1986, Buduburam in Ghana since 1990, or Dadaab and Kakuma in Kenya since 1991 and 1992, respectively. In fact “protracted refugee situations now account for the vast majority of the world’s refugee population”. Some camps grow into permanent settlements and even merge with nearby older communities, such as Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanon and Deir al-Balah, Palestine.
People may stay in these camps, receiving emergency food and medical aid, until it is safe to return to their home countries. When the situation in their country of origin stabilizes, they can make use of voluntary repatriation programmes. In some cases, often after several years, the host country government may prefer to see that refugees are resettled in "third countries" which accept refugees seeking asylum. In other cases, the host country government may choose to forcibly repatriate refugees to their country of origin, in violation of international law. In rare cases, they may be naturalised by the country they fled to.
Although camps are intended to be temporary, some exist for decades and people can stay there for decades, both of which have major implications for human rights. Some Palestinian refugee camps exist since 1948, camps for Eritreans in Sudan (such as the Shagarab camp) exist since 1968, the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria exist since 1975, camps for Burmese in Thailand (such as the Mae La refugee camp) exist since 1986, Buduburam in Ghana since 1990, or Dadaab and Kakuma in Kenya since 1991 and 1992, respectively. In fact “protracted refugee situations now account for the vast majority of the world’s refugee population”. Some camps grow into permanent settlements and even merge with nearby older communities, such as Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanon and Deir al-Balah, Palestine.
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