Les camps de réfugiés et la guerre : Du sanctuaire à l'enfermement humanitaire ? Focus stratégique, No. 27, January 2011
Refugee and IDP camps, intended to protect civilians affected by conflicts and natural disasters, have an undeniable strategic importance, and their management can be critical for the resolution of crises.
During the Cold War, camps - often located on the border between two states in conflict with each other - made ideal grounds for recruitment, resupply and propaganda. The strategic function of refugee camps has evolved in the past twenty years: although they still play a part in the prolongation of conflicts, they shelter fewer refugees and play a less prominent military role. While they used to be administered by guerillas, camps are now managed by humanitarian organizations - a change that raises a number of issues as regards their judicial and social responsibility for the organization and supplying of war economies.
This paper is published in French only: Les camps de réfugiés et la guerre : Du sanctuaire à l'enfermement humanitaire ?