Return in dignity: a neglected protection challenge

It explores the origins, evolution and content of the principle of dignified return, and examines the implications of dignity as a guiding principle for the governance of return processes. The first section of this article tracks the emergence of provisions on safe and dignified return in international law, peace agreements, UN documents and speeches made by the United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees since 1978.

This discussion demonstrates that although return in conditions of safety and dignity is now a pillar in the rhetoric of the international refugee regime, considerable confusion remains about what this idea means in practice, particularly in terms of dignity, and considers the insights these theories hold regarding return. Although the theoretical perspectives on this issues are diverse, the author argues that from them at least two key components of a dignified return can be distilled: first, the principle of refugee choice, and second, the need to redress the injustices that cause and characterise displacement.