A New Approach to Refugee Inclusion : Shared by Niloufar Pourzand

Why we need a new playbook for refugee inclusion 

Bahana Mirindi Hydrogene — The New Humanitarian

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Summary

Bahana Mirindi Hydrogene argues that refugee participation in humanitarian decision-making remains largely symbolic, with real power concentrated in agencies and donors. The article highlights the case of Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, where food rations have been cut to 40% and aid withdrawn for those labeled “self-reliant” under a new World Food Programme framework. Protests have erupted, but refugees were only “consulted” after policies were already designed, illustrating a system that validates decisions rather than co-creates them.

The problem, Hydrogene notes, is structural: refugee leaders are often chosen for popularity or convenience, not competence, and lack the training or authority to influence complex policy. Meanwhile, skilled community members and refugee-led organisations (RLOs) are sidelined or misrepresented as speaking for entire populations. Similar patterns are seen globally, including in Colombia and Chile, where refugee input is filtered to fit donor agendas. This results in “participation as performance” rather than genuine power-sharing.

The author calls for a new approach built on four pillars: hybrid systems combining elections with criteria for competence; institutionalised refugee participation in governance, such as advisory boards with real decision-making roles; recognition of RLOs as organisational voices rather than representatives of all refugees; and genuine co-design of policies starting from community-defined priorities. Without these reforms, refugee representation will remain tokenistic, and humanitarian systems will continue to fail the communities they claim to serve.