The Politics of Repatriation: The Tigrayan Refugee Repatriation 1985–1987

The paper examines the political and operational issues involved in the organized repatriation of some 200, 000 Tigrayan refugees from eastern Sudan to areas of northern Ethiopia controlled by the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF)- Due to the sensitivity of refugee returns to territories controlled by ‘non-recognized entities’, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) neither formally recognized nor actively supported the movement. In the absence of UNHCR's sanctioning of the repatriation, locally-based initiatives for support became problematic. The failure to provide adequate assistance to returnees, especially recovery inputs, had negative implications for food production in Tigray for this population over the next several years.