Experience in solving problems of Mauritanian refugees in Senegal River Valley

In the Senegal River Valley - historic site of contact of races and nationalities - there was an inter-ethnic conflict between Mauritanians and the black population of the region in 1989. Its development has turned the expulsion from Mauritania at least 60,000 people that were forced to seek refuge in neighboring Senegal and Mali. Despite the apparent insignificance of these events, the conflict between Senegal and Mauritania, and caused by them a humanitarian crisis, is an interesting combination of historical, economic and political contradictions. The aim of this study is to examine the historical background of the border conflict's occurrence between Senegal and Mauritania, of its transformation into a humanitarian crisis and ways of overcoming this crisis. The research is based on an analysis of the works of foreign authors, because this problem has not been studied in the Russian historiography. For example, valuable information for the investigation is presented in the works of the French and British experts (G.E. Brooks, C. Stewart, C. Santoir, etc.). In addition, in the article were used an official statistical and analytical data of UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; http://www.unhcr.org). For a full analysis of the refugee problem in the delta of the Senegal River author refers to the research of historical and economic preconditions of the Senegal-Mauritanian conflict. He concludes that each of the member countries of the conflict has the right to present their pretensions to the Senegal River Delta on the basis of the facts about resettlement and migrations in the region. Turning to the economic premises of the conflict, the author points to climate changes in the region, which triggered a struggle for the pastures of the river delta. Ultimately the land dispute has transformed into a political and ethnic conflict between Senegal and Mauritania, which gave rise to the refugee problem. The author describes two main stages of the humanitarian crisis: 1) the mutual deportation by Senegal and Mauritania of citizens of each other, that led to the organization of refugee camps and only exacerbated the economic situation of both countries; 2) the political solution of the refugee crisis, which became possible due to the pressure on the government of Mauritania by governments and non-governmental organizations. The author shows how the goodwill of participants in the settlement of the humanitarian crisis as well as the attention of the world community, can have a positive impact on its development. In conclusion, the author points out that the return to their homeland in 2009-2012 more than 20,000 refugees allows us to speak about the end of the acute phase of the ethnic conflict, however, the refugee camp still continue to operate, so the problem of refugees in the Senegal River Delta requires further settlement.

Keywords

Authors

References