ABSTRACT
Running counter to the narrative that the West is bearing the burden of resettlement, 80% of refugees are hosted in countries next to their country of origin meaning just 10 countries are hosting 60% of the world’s refugees. Of the 7.4 million school-aged children under UNHCR’s mandate, over half are out of school and the remainder in camp-based schooling opportunities of various quality. However, education in many refugee camps remains inconsistent and unstable, and there remains a disconnect between the proclamation of “education for all” and the experience of children living in refugee camps. A radical change in how countries respond to the ever-growing crisis is needed. The Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) is currently being piloted by the UNHCR as that paradigm shift. Given the uncertainty of a fast-changing policy landscape, this study looks to answer the question What do the perspectives of implementers tell us about the ability of host countries to incorporate the objectives of the CRRF into national policy? Using Key Informant Interviews, we seek to synthesize the grand ideals of the CRRF to guide an early reflection on the implementation of the CRRF from two piloting countries - Uganda and Kenya. What emerges from this synthesis echoes what comparativists have well understood when initiating international policy: context matters both at a global scale but also in thinking through implementation at the national and local levels to understand how this context will shape and interplay even with the sincerest of grand values.
