ABSTRACT

Conflict, violence, and human rights abuses continue to contribute to the global proliferation of refugee camps and displaced persons. This chapter focuses on the translation process that takes place when transnational and national social policies, such as the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)'s Self-Reliance policy adopted in Uganda, are implemented into a specific national and local context, like Uganda's Nakivale Refugee Settlement. It draws upon the critical migration and governance, and transnational social policy literatures to shed light on the complex inter-relations between humanitarian assistance, refugee management, self-reliance schemes, and the experiences of refugees in Nakivale. Working through a social justice lens highlights processes and relations that directly impact the lives, rights, and wellbeing of refugees in sites of injustice, such as refugee camps. Government officials and nongovernmental organization (NGO) representatives are emphasizing the need to reduce refugee dependency on humanitarian 'hand-outs' as a key goal of self-reliance programs.