| dc.description.abstract | The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the subsequent end of the Cold War
introduced a new wold order with its own problems and complexities.
Many approaches of solving global problems that had been modeled along the
Cold War framework are currently facing new challenges some of which they cannot
address adequately. Their tenability is now under question and scrutiny. As we begin the
new millennium, there is need to re-think some of these traditional approaches with a view
to making them relevant for solving modem problems. One of these areas that need to be revisited and reviewed is the international
-humanitarian assistance to refugees. The traditional approach of relying on the UNHCR
and other donor agencies has not only become expensive over the years but has also tired
the international community which has continuously shouldered the burden of states of
origin that failed in their duty of protecting their citizens. There is a need to revise the
humanitarian assistance to refugees with an aim of making it more proactive and also
making it more inclined to integrating the community where the refugees are settled. This study investigates the challenges facing the humanitarian ,assistance to
refugees in the Horn of Africa ill the post-Cold War era. The Horn of Africa has over the
years been synonymous with refugees. In the 1990s, it exhibited various complexities of
refugeehood. These included continued population displacement both within states and
.•.
across international boarders, life in exile for hundred thousands of refugees, and,
prospects of repatriation. This study examines how the humanitarian assistance to
refugees deals with all these phenomena. An attempt is made to identify and highlight the
loopholes and weaknesses facing the humanitarian assistance programs. Finally, a case is
made for the need to make humanitarian assistance programs to be more holistic and
inclusive. Thus, the agencies providing humanitarian assistance programs ought to work
closely with the UNHCR in its duty of assisting refugees. | en |
