Chapter 3 3.0 25 2.5 20 2.0 15 1.5 10 1.0 5 0.5 0.0 ‘92 ‘97 Number of returned refugees ‘02 ‘07 ‘12 ‘17 0 Percentage of refugee population While solutions for both refugees and IDPs should be pursued in tandem, and are often mutuallyreinforcing, this chapter focuses primarily on durable solutions for refugees. These have traditionally included voluntary repatriation, resettlement to a third country, and local integration. Returns The number of refugees who returned to their countries of origin increased during the year from 552,200 in 2016 to 667,400, most of whom (518,700) received assistance from UNHCR [Figure 9]. While the return to their country of origin is often the preferred solution for many refugees, repatriation should be based on a free and informed decision and with the full commitment of the country of origin to the reintegration process to ensure that returnees are able to safely rebuild their lives. Unfortunately, the contexts in which such returns took place in 2017 were often complex, with many refugees returning under adverse circumstances to situations in which sustainable reintegration could not be assured. In some cases, so-called spontaneous returns took place under a degree of duress in which thresholds for voluntary, safe, and dignified return not being 28 Percentage of overall refugee population Refugee returns (millions) Figure 9 | Refugee returns | 1992-2017 met. For returns to be sustainable, it is critical that they do not take place precipitously or prematurely, without the informed consent of refugees or the basic elements of lasting solutions in place. In 2017, refugees returned to 43 countries of origin from 94 former countries of asylum, as reported by UNHCR offices and after reconciliation of departure and arrival figures. It should be noted that countries of origin reported only arrivals of returning refugees, with no distinction between those who returned through voluntary repatriation or returned spontaneously or in conditions that were not considered conducive for lasting solutions. Thus the reported statistics refer to returns and not voluntary repatriation. The majority of returnees were former refugees from Nigeria (282,800) who returned to their own country, mainly from Cameroon (150,000) and Niger (132,400). UNHCR expressed concerns in 2017 over the sustainability and voluntariness of some of the returns from Cameroon. 34 34 See: http://www.unhcr.org/afr/news/press/2017/6/5954bedb4/ involuntary-refugee-returns-nigeria-must-avoided-unhcr.html; http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2017/3/58d0ece64/unhcrconcerned-return-nigerian-refugees-cameroon.html; and http:// www.unhcr.org/afr/news/press/2017/6/593013454/unhcr-stepssupport-amidst-large-scale-returns-northeast-nigeria.html. unhcr > Global trends 2017