Voluntary Repatriation

What is Voluntary Repatriation?

Voluntary Repatriation refers to the free and voluntary return of refugees to their country of origin in safety and dignity. According to UNHCR, successful voluntary repatriation programs require a stable political situation in the country of origin to ensure that returnees will be able to reintegrate and not be required to flee again.

While voluntary repatriation is not addressed in the 1951 Refugee Convention, it stems directly from the principle of non-refoulement (Article 33) – the practice of not forcing refugees or asylum seekers to return to a country in which they may be subjected to persecution. The involuntary return of refugees and asylum seekers – people retaining well-founded fears of persecution – would amount to refoulement, and such persons cannot be compelled to repatriate.

Voluntariness is the cornerstone of international protection regarding the return of refugees. A refugee’s legal status in their country of asylum is one of the most important indicators of voluntariness. Once legally recognized as a refugee, a person’s rights are protected. If they are given the opportunity to settle in their country of asylum, their choice to repatriate to their country of origin is more likely to be truly free and voluntary. If, however, their rights are not recognized and they are pressured, restricted, and confined to closed camps, they may “choose” to return to their country, but not as an act of free will; this is more likely to be considered involuntary coerced return.  

Voluntariness is more than an issue of principle. Voluntary repatriation is far more likely to be lasting and sustainable. It therefore constitutes a pragmatic and sensible approach towards a truly durable solution.

Voluntary Repatriation from Israel

The two largest populations in need of international protection in Israel are nationals of Eritrea and Sudan who entered the country between 2005-2011. Until the conditions that forced them to flee their countries change, the vast majority of these individuals are unable to return home safely and in dignity. However, many of them desire to return to their countries when there is no risk to do so.

Very few Eritreans and Sudanese asylum-seekers in Israel have been granted refugee status. The authorities instead provide these individuals with temporary group protection with limited rights and entitlements, including protection from refoulement and informal access to the labour market. This form of protection does not lead to a long-term solution for them.

Since the early 2000s, the temporary group protection scheme has also been used for nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, and South Sudan.

Following political changes in some of these countries, most notably Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire, most of the asylum-seekers (some 2,000) have repatriated. These nationals were given six months to one-year to prepare for their return. Some saved money to help them upon their return home or learned a new skill to ease their reintegration into their county’s recovering labour market.

In the case of South Sudan, a newborn state that declared independence in July 2011, refugees were asked to return prematurely on short notice. An estimated 1,500 persons were returned to South Sudan. Few vulnerable families and people with special medical and mental needs were allowed to stay in Israel, in the absence of proper facilities and services to cater to their special needs. According to media reports and individual testimonies, the indication is that South Sudanese who were returned home from Israel faced disease and loss of life and in some cases were forced to flee South Sudan again due to conflict.

Documents and Resources

**Publications by non-UNHCR authors are not necessarily endorsed by or representative of UNHCR.

• Procedure on Removal to the Third Countries (PIBA, 2018)** – Hebrew
• Forced and Unlawful: Israel’s Deportation of Eritrean and Sudanese Asylum-Seekers to Uganda (Amnesty International, 2018)**
• Israel: Don’t Lock Up Asylum Seekers – Thousands of Eritreans, Sudanese Face Prison if They Refuse to Leave (Human Rights Watch, 2018)** – English | Hebrew
• “I was left with nothing”: “Voluntary” departures of asylum seekers from Israel to Rwanda and Uganda (International Refugee Rights Initiative, 2015)**

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