Author(s)

V. KOLMANNSKOG & T. AFIFI

Abstract

This article addresses the existing opportunities and protection gaps for Ethiopians and Somalis who had been exposed to and suffering from environmental problems in their home countries and had to flee to Yemen. It suggests policy and legal options in cross-border disaster-related displacement in the Horn of Africa and Middle East regions, with specific focus on Ethiopia and Somalia as sending countries and Yemen as a receiving country. The article provides a number of recommendations, including using a broad socio-legal approach that also considers norms and religious values when dealing with cross-border displaced persons as well as bilateral agreements between the host and sending countries.

Keywords

disasters, displacement, Horn of Africa, migrants, prima facie status, protection gaps, refugees, regular and irregular migrants, Yemen