Voluntary return in safety and with dignity has long been a core tenet of the international refugee regime. In the 23 articles on ‘Return’ in this issue of FMR, authors explore various obstacles to achieving sustainable return, discuss the need to guard against premature or forced return, and debate the assumptions and perceptions that influence policy and practice. This issue also includes seven articles on ‘Towards understanding and addressing the root causes of displacement’, prepared as resource material for the Global Refugee Forum to be held in December.

This issue includes two articles by colleagues at the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC), and one article by a former RSC colleague:

Repatriation principles under pressure

Jeff Crisp (University of Oxford)

The laws and norms established by the international community to ensure that organised repatriation takes place in a way that protects the rights of refugees are increasingly being violated.

www.fmreview.org/return/crisp

Syrian refugees’ return from Lebanon

Tamirace Fakhoury and Derya Ozkul (Lebanese American University / University of Oxford)

Analysis of return practices in Lebanon reveal challenges to voluntary, safe and dignified return.

www.fmreview.org/return/fakhoury-ozkul

Working with ‘stayee’ communities: learning from Eritrea

Georgia Cole (University of Cambridge)

Better understanding of the perceptions and living conditions of the communities into which returnees will arrive may facilitate better integration of those returning from displacement.

www.fmreview.org/return/cole

To access the full magazine or the Editors’ briefing (4-page summary of contents), please visit www.fmreview.org/return.