migration — Publications

ADSP: Challenges Faced by Afghan Women and Children in Iran and Pakistan

December 2023

Samuel Hall collaborated with the Asia Displacement Solutions Platform (ADSP) to contribute to two significant research briefs addressing pressing issues Afghan communities face. The first, "Forced to Migrate: Afghan Women Waiting for Protection in Iran and Pakistan," explores the reduced protection space and obstacles confronting Afghan families in the same regions The second, "Afghan Children’s Access to Education in Iran and Pakistan," sheds light on the challenges experienced by Afghan girls in Iran and Pakistan post-2021 migration.

These research briefs are pivotal in understanding the complexities of education rights and forced migration challenges in these regions. Our studies emphasize the urgent need for international support and a rights-based response. A key recommendation emerging from our research is the call for increased global solidarity and responsibility sharing to address the rights of Afghan women, children, and families.

Read the briefing note on Forced to Migrate: Afghan Women Waiting for Protection in Iran and Pakistan, here

Read the briefing note on Afghan Children’s Access to Education in Iran and Pakistan here

Middle East &North AfricaSamuel HallJanuary 11, 2024ADSP, women's safety, children, migration, displacement, Education

IIED: Participatory Forum on Protracted Displacement in an Urban World

December 2023

Navigating the complexities of protracted displacement, our urban-focused study spans four countries: Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Jordan. As part of a global consortium, Samuel Hall collaborates with academic and practice partners for in-depth research.

Our extensive engagement, including five participatory forums in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, addresses the multifaceted challenges faced by displaced populations. Through a consensus-building approach, we've crafted a city note presenting key findings and recommendations. The project delves into crucial aspects like economic well-being, access to basic services, psychosocial well-being, and perceived safety.

The insights gained contribute to policy recommendations, emphasising local integration, employment opportunities, legal documentation, and infrastructure improvements. Our commitment extends beyond data collection; we aim to sustain the participatory forums, fostering collaboration among government authorities, NGOs, and UN/INGOs for lasting impact.

Read the city note here

Find the PowerPoint for the Closing Event: Participatory Forum on Protracted Displacement in an Urban World here

KNOMAD - Youth, Migration and Development: A New Lens for Critical Times

March 2022

As the world undergoes a period of uncertainty, young people around the world are particularly affected by the growing inequalities and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as they transition to adulthood. Young people who have made the difficult choice to move, or who have been forced to do so, are particularly marginalised in their current environment: they are not only socially and economically vulnerable, but also psychologically and often legally so.

KNOMAD [Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development] supported by the World Bank commissioned Samuel Hall to produce a scoping paper exploring the nexus between Youth, Migration, and Development. The paper reveals youth & young migrants in the world as resourceful actors of sustainable development in a global context marked by crises.

The paper also draws attention to regional and subregional specificities across the world - setting an agenda on how youth migration can contribute to development and how it can be meaningfully integrated into development strategies.

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Samuel Hall - Against The Clock : Our Position On Climate Migration

March 2022

For over ten years, we have worked in fragile and conflict-prone settings across 60+ countries. Many of the places we know, and the communities we work with, are among the most vulnerable to climate change. Our experience tells us that there are several gaps in climate and migration research – gaps that urgently need addressing.

Samuel’s Hall’s latest short paper outlines our position on climate migration. In a context where climate migration has been characterised by some as a ‘worse case scenario’, and yielded by populists and nationalists to stoke fear, there is a need for evidence-based policy-making derived from research that centres the voices of communities.

Focusing on the need for rapid, community-owned and led action, this report nods to local governance initiatives leading climate justice movements across the globe and spotlights some of our key projects and commitments in this area.

Download Position Paper

ODI - Public narratives and attitudes towards refugees and other migrants

October 2021

Engaging public narratives and attitudes towards refugees and migrants within their host communities is an increasingly important task. There is however a lack of understanding and data on these narratives and attitudes. This is particularly the case for countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This ODI project, supported by the IKEA Foundation, aims to address this gap. Through a series of activities, dialogues, and innovative communication and outreach initiatives, the project is mapping recent research and evidence on public attitudes toward refugees and other migrants in several countries in Africa and Europe.

Samuel Hall lead interviews in Nigeria and Ethiopia and contributed to the writing of these new reports. ODI have also carried out similar research in Germany, the UK, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Italy, the US, Kenya and Uganda.

Nigeria country profile
Ethiopia country profile
Project page

West & Central Africa, Europe, Global, ResilienceSamuel HallNovember 1, 2021Nigeria, Ethiopia, IKEA, refugees, migration, case study, report

ILO/IOM - We are in this together: Labour Migration Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis in Europe and North Africa

July 2021

The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has shaken up existing labour migration trends. This is particularly true on both sides of the Mediterranean, where the presence of the virus has profoundly slowed, if not halted, human mobility, and where it is increasingly likely that population movements will be restricted in the coming months and years.

In light of this, and in preparation for the first THAMM (Towards a Holistic Approach to Labour Migration Governance and Labour Mobility in North Africa) Regional Conference, this discussion paper on labour migration responses to the COVID-19 crisis in Europe and North Africa is aimed at gaining a better understanding of the key trends that are currently shaping labour migration governance in a time of crisis. The paper is authored by Samuel Hall co-founder Hervé Nicolle.

Download Executive Summary (English)
Download Report (English)
Download Conference Report (English)
Watch Regional Conference (English)

Download Executive Summary (French)
Download Report (French)
Download Conference Report (French)
Watch Regional Conference (French)

Download Report (Arabic)
Download Conference Report (Arabic)

Europe, Middle East &North AfricaSamuel HallSeptember 22, 2021labour, labour migration, migration, Europe, north africa, africa, report, case study

AMIF – Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning of Actions financed by the Asylum Migration Integration Fund (AMIF)

March 2021

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, on behalf of the donors funding RDPP, commissioned Samuel Hall to conduct an evaluation to assess the results and impact of the AMIF-funded activities in Ethiopia and Sudan. AMIF actions aimed at enabling the provision of better protection, assistance and durable solutions for refugees and asylum seekers through improved documentation and robust data storage systems. This involved building a refugee registration system with biometric identification management, real-time data verification capacity and simultaneous identification of protection needs of persons of concern. Not only benefiting refugees, the actions also aimed to improve civil registration more broadly, in particular birth registration, be it among the refugee or host community.

Download Ethiopia Report

Download Sudan Report

Download Synthesis Report

DELMI – Those who were sent back: Return and reintegration of rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan and Iraq

October 2021

This 2019/2020 study was commissioned by the Swedish Migration Studies Delegation (DELMI), with fieldwork by Samuel Hall. Results are based on 100 interviews with migrants who have returned voluntarily and involuntarily to Afghanistan and Iraq. Respondents answered questions about their lives before arrival to Sweden, the asylum and return process. The study sought to actively embed local researchers and civil society organisations in the research design, to create a deeper evidence-base for advocacy and aid nuanced understanding of the challenges of return decision-making, reintegration and post-return monitoring.

Download Policy Brief

Download Report

War Child - Coming Back to Afghanistan: Deported Minors' Needs at a Time of COVID-19

July 2020

Unaccompanied children on the move have become more common. This demographic shift calls for a transition to child-sensitive return programmes and policies – yet despite increased returns and deportations, support has decreased over the last decade in Afghanistan. COVID-19 has increased the risks of returns, and the response to the pandemic remains insufficient to meet the needs at the border - especially for children and women. This research was conducted by Samuel Hall for War Child UK and UNICEF to assess the impact of COVID-19 on minor deportees and returnees. It provides actionable learning to inform more effective and relevant design, implementation, and adjustment of future interventions targeting minor deportees.

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War Child - Coming Back to Afghanistan: Study on Deported Minors’ Return and Reintegration Needs in the Western Region

December 2019

Samuel Hall was commissioned by War Child to conduct a study that provides a comprehensive understanding of the existing Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) regarding the unsafe migration of unaccompanied children to Iran. Primary data collection was conducted in Herat and Badghis provinces. The study also targeted parents and communities of children at risk of unsafe migration or experienced unsafe migration. This study contributes to charting a path forward for a post-deportation protection framework adapted to the protection profiles and needs of unaccompanied minors, their families and communities of return.

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IOM - Community Mapping and Socio-Economic Profiling of Communities of Return in West Africa

August 2019

Samuel Hall was commissioned by IOM under the EUTF-funded joint initiative to conduct a regional assessment of communities of return in 11 West African countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Senegal). The Joint Initiative seeks to strengthen the reintegration of returning migrants. Along with a socio-economic assessment of each community, Samuel Hall mapped key stakeholders, their capacities and existing services to support IOM regional offices in developing effective reintegration activities.

Download Burkina Faso Report (French)

Download Cameroon Report (French)

Download Côte D'Ivoire Report (French)

Download The Gambia Report

Download Ghana Report

Download Guinea Report (French)

Download Guinea Bissau Report

Download Mali Report (French)

Download Mauritania Report (French)

Download Nigeria Report

Download Senegal Report (French)

UNESCO - Inclusion of Afghan Refugees in the National Education Systems of Iran and Pakistan

November 2018

This paper was commissioned by the Global Education Monitoring Report as background information to assist in drafting the 2019 GEM Report, Migration, displacement and education: Building bridges, not walls, accessible here.

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Open Society Foundations - Free and Safe Movement in East Africa

October 2018

A multi-region study analysing migration policy and practices in Central, East and Southern Africa. This report reviews findings at the East African sub-regional level at a time of growing attention to fostering mobility and mobility’s gain for protection and development.

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Mercy Corps - Driven to leave: Aid & Migration

September 2018

Our policy briefs question the efficacy of traditional development investments that seek to deter migration from countries lacking basic rule of law and security; and question the impact of job training and skills building on migration intentions.

Download Policy Brief 1

Download Policy Brief 2

Download Policy Brief 3

Dutch MFA/NWO - Aspirations and Youth programming in Somalia and Afghanistan

April 2018

We undertook data analysis and primary data collection in Afghanistan, Somalia, Greece and Italy to understand the commonalities and differences in decision-making processes – whether to migrate or to stay – among youth in conflict-affected settings.

Download Aspirations Research Brief

Download Youth Employment Research Brief

ReDSS - Local Integration Focus: Refugees in Ethiopia

February 2018

This report provides recommendations on how to improve local integration and self-reliance programming, assessing the level of local integration in Gambela (Gambela city and Pugnido Camp) and Somali regions (Jigjiga and Kebribeyah Camp) for refugees who have lived in Ethiopia for 20 years.

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IOM - Migrant Smuggling to Canada

May 2018

This study focuses on assessing migrant vulnerabilities, protection needs and exposure to exploitation
before migration, during their transit and upon arrival through a qualitative research based on migrants’
experiences of irregular migration to Canada, with a focus on Afghan and Syrian migrants.

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NRC - The Challenges Displaced Afghans Face in Securing Durable Solutions

January 2018

This policy brief explores the situation faced by returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan, calling for a collective approach across the humanitarian-developmentpeace nexus.

Download Policy Brief

IOM/DFID - Setting Standards for an Integrated Approach to Reintegration

January 2018

This report, prepared and conducted by Samuel Hall under the IOM DFID-funded MEASURE Project, outlines recommendations to support sustainable reintegration of migrants who return to their home countries in the framework of AVRR programmes.

Download Report

HelpAge International - Older People in Situations of Migration in Africa: the Untold Story

February 2017

This briefing for HelpAge tells the untold story of older people in the migration ecosystem in Africa. It highlights the importance of including older people in migration policies and practice – whether they are left behind, on the move, or returning to their country of origin. It identifies the key challenges facing this generation, explores policy options and calls for more thorough research to improve understanding of the capabilities and needs of older people in situations of migration in Africa.

Download Policy Paper

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