Whose Needs are Right? Refugees, Oustees and the Challenges of Rights-Based Approaches in Forced Migration

This paper examines the growing literature, in both refugee and oustee studies, that explores the application of rights-based approaches to forced migration. Introducing a rights regime to both oustee and refugee issues has the potential to overturn the injustices encountered by refugees and oustees, protect them from the violations of basic rights that they encounter almost daily, while also awarding them with the agency to shape their life choices around settlements, livelihoods and social networks in their new homes. Still, of course, rights-based approaches in forced migration are not without challenges, and the paper explores issues around responsibility, potential problems around universality and enforceability, and concludes by proposing a research agenda based on the existing gaps in the literature.