ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 presents a critical overview of the current situation (both legal and in terms of policy and practice) that the international community faces with respect to protracted refugee situations and introduces the capabilities approach as an alternative framework that moves away from an economic and charity-based model of refugee assistance towards a truly rights-based approach that is founded on a more comprehensive understanding of human well-being and dignity. To this end, this chapter outlines the impacts of protracted encampment and exile, the current legal framework that addresses protracted refugee situations, and draws attention to the insufficiency of traditional relief models and the much-touted “gap” between relief and development.
