Ethiopia’s refugee response

The report examines Ethiopia's shift toward the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), which aims to move from camp-based assistance to socio-economic integration. Key initiatives include providing work permits, expanding the Out of Camp Policy, and creating jobs in industrial parks. However, the report identifies significant hurdles, including low national wages, ethnic tensions in regions like Gambella, and insufficient consultation with host communities.

• The implementation of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) marks a significant policy shift in Ethiopia, aiming to enhance refugee self-reliance through wage-earning employment, local integration, and the expansion of the Out of Camp Policy (OCP).
• Ethiopia is integrating the CRRF with its Growth and Transformation Plan-II (GTP-II) to link humanitarian aid with national development, specifically targeting industrialisation and job creation.
• Industrial parks are a central component of the integration strategy, with plans for $500 million in construction funded by the European Investment Bank and DFID, intending to allocate 30% of the resulting 100,000 jobs to refugees.
• Low wages in Ethiopia pose a major risk to the CRRF's success, as current industrial park salaries (approximately 900 Birr or US$32 per month) may be less attractive than the humanitarian aid refugees currently receive.
• Local integration efforts face severe challenges in the Gambella and Somali regional states due to ethnic tensions, clan dynamics, and competition over land and resources.
• The report identifies a lack of sufficient consultation with host communities, noting that outreach has been limited to national-level events and mass media rather than deep community engagement.
• The Administration for Refugee & Returnee Affairs (ARRA), while leading the process, faces coordination challenges because its original mandate focused on emergency response and security rather than development.

APA

Abebe, T. T. (2018). Ethiopia’s refugee response. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ear19.pdf

Chicago

Abebe, Tsion Tadesse. Ethiopia’s refugee response. Institute for Security Studies, 2018. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ear19.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Abebe |first1=Tsion Tadesse |title=Ethiopia’s refugee response |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=October 2018 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ear19.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{abebe2018ethiopias, author = {Abebe, Tsion Tadesse}, title = {{Ethiopia’s refugee response}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2018}, month = oct, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ear19.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }