Accessing ‘Home’ Refugee Returns to Towns and Cities: Experiences from Côte d’Ivoire and Rwanda

This executive summary from December 2016 explores voluntary returns and urbanization within town and small city contexts, drawing on findings from household surveys and interviews with returnees in Côte d’Ivoire and Rwanda. In considering these two case studies alongside a review of policies related to urban refugees and voluntary repatriation, CWS identifies trends and lessons that could be applied more broadly in anticipation of an increased urban character of return and reintegration, including recommended indicators for use in monitoring urban returns. Research was conducted with support from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), and in partnership with Kigali Independent University (ULK) in Rwanda.