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Sustainable Return: A Case Study of Refugee Return to Lao PDR in the 1980s–1990s

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Refugee and Return

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Environment, Security, Development and Peace ((MIGST,volume 28))

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Abstract

The possibility of repatriation has recently come under heavy discussion along the Thai–Myanmar border. The discourse around ‘sustainable return’ looks beyond long-term development and focuses on four kinds of insecurities (namely, physical insecurity, social and psychological insecurity, legal insecurity, and material insecurity). Repatriation and reintegration are thus viewed as a durable solution only when these aspects of displacement are addressed in an integrated and effective manner. Based on this framework of sustainable return, this chapter begins with a discussion on the standard of voluntary repatriation in accordance with international principles (including the principle of non-refoulement). It then outlines the conditions that induce voluntary repatriation using a case study on repatriation of Indochinese refugees from Thailand to Lao PDR and Cambodia in the 1980s. It describes the security conditions in which repatriation occurred, and highlights the challenges and successes of return in this context, including policies adopted by Lao PDR and the roles of UNHCR and the RTG.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    These challenges are also described by Crisp (2000) in the context of refugee repatriation in Africa in the 1990s. They are introduced accordingly in the following paragraphs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

    Min Ma & Vongsa Chayavong

Authors
  1. Min Ma
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  2. Vongsa Chayavong
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Correspondence to Min Ma .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Asian Research Center for Migration (ARCM), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

    Supang Chantavanich

  2. Asian Studies Asian Reser Center for Mig, Chulalongkorn University, Institute of Asian Studies Asian Reser Center for Mig, Bangkok, Thailand

    Aungkana Kamonpetch

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Ma, M., Chayavong, V. (2017). Sustainable Return: A Case Study of Refugee Return to Lao PDR in the 1980s–1990s. In: Chantavanich, S., Kamonpetch, A. (eds) Refugee and Return. SpringerBriefs in Environment, Security, Development and Peace(), vol 28. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41752-3_2

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