A first obstacle was to define who we were talking about. All have different needs and different rights under international law. These included actual safety, the level of safety as perceived by often fearful refugees, housing, trusted information about the situation in the home environment, and financial help or the means to support themselves once returned. Acceptable and perceived levels of risk vary from case to case.
Refugees are also under pressure to leave their host countries or areas.
Displaced people are at risk of summary deportation, while refugees can be pressured to return by cutting off benefits. We also noted that in Bosnia, pressure to return against the advice of UN protection officers has led to fatalities. We also considered how the policies of nation-donors to the UN creates a false urgency for staff to act in the short term. Next we discussed how the priorities of donors, including donors to NGOs, often do not reflect the needs on the ground. For example, the great but underfunded need in Bosnia for internally displaced people to return home before the return of refugees from abroad.