Refugee Movements in Africa: A Case Study of Sudan

Abstract

This paper critically examines the multiple drivers, trends, and humanitarian implications of refugee flows from Sudan and within Sudan. We argue that forced displacement in Africa, particularly in Sudan, is complex and caused by interconnected, site-specific factors such as armed conflicts, political instability, economic hardships, climate change, and environmental degradation. The specific case of Sudan exemplifies the way the drivers are contextualised into systemic problems that create an interminable crisis of forced migration due to historic and ongoing civil conflicts, and associated humanitarian impacts. Through an exhaustive review of the literature and an analysis of validated reports from pertinent humanitarian organisations, the research contextualises the conflicts in Sudan, produces a systemic understanding of the primary forms of displacement, and explores (both historically and geographically) the trends throughout Africa. As recent examples indicate, the onset of full-scale conflict in Sudan in 2023 has exacerbated existing trends, affecting a range of entities while placing enormous strain on humanitarian response and impacted communities, as both local and international actors engage, sometimes in unexpected ways. For Sudan, the findings perhaps improve our ability to think systemically about the forced migrant experience in Africa, while making clear that there is an immediate demand for a much more systemic humanitarian system that privileges ethical, humane, and proactive, long-term solutions. The research commenced in 2018 and is likely to end in 2024, in order to integrate recent developments, and, for example, to consider future forced migration scenarios.