The year 2024 has turned out to be one of the most convulsive and negative years for world peace, with ongoing wars in Palestine, Ukraine and Sudan that have led to unprecedented humanitarian crises. The degree of unrest and the intensity of the violence are such that the number of people who have had to flee their homes has risen to 117 million,[1] three times more than twelve years ago. Forty-three million of them have sought protection in another country and are, therefore, considered refugees. In the same period, asylum applications have increased to almost seven million. Behind these numbers, there are people and families whose lives have been cut short and who are beginning a new journey full of uncertainty, precariousness, fear and sadness.
While this massive forced displacement generates tension in the host countries, which struggle to absorb these people in the conditions and with the rights they deserve, there are also extraordinary cases of international solidarity all over the world. And it is important to note that 75 per cent of the world’s refugees have been taken in by middle- or low-income countries. That said, there is also a growing trend, on a global scale, of hate speech towards migrants and refugees.
Many people expelled from their country of origin are expelled because of their social and political activism against authoritarian regimes and armed groups. They flee for their lives. They take with them their knowledge and their commitment to the ordinary good, fundamental social capital to work for political change in their country of origin from abroad, and their dedication, experience and tenacity to build a new life and to contribute to their host country, as long as they are given the opportunities to do so.
The increasing number of armed conflicts and the rise in various forms of violence indicate the need to innovate in peacebuilding analysis and responses. Clearly, new actors and tools are needed to complement the work of governments, the United Nations and civil society organizations.
People expelled from their country have fundamental social capital and a commitment to work for political change from abroad
In this sense, at ICIP, we believe that diaspora communities have an action potential that does not deserve recognition. We apply a flexible definition of the concept of diaspora, which includes migrants, refugees and exiles. Obviously, these are strongly heterogeneous communities that may even reproduce the political, ethnic, class, and gender factions and disputes of their country of origin when they are abroad. However, the common element is the emotional bond to their country of origin and their “immigrant” status in the host country. This bond facilitates dialogue in and from diversity in a context different from their own, which can contribute to new relationships and power dynamics to transform conflicts that have generated voluntary or forced migration.
Aware of this potential, ICIP’s “Memory, coexistence and reconciliation” program is committed to drawing attention to the contributions to peacebuilding made by people in the diaspora, amplifying their voices and supporting their actions.
Peacebuilding is a task that encompasses a wide range of actions aimed at reducing all forms of violence.[2] The typical actions of people in the diaspora committed to political change are raising public awareness and documenting and denouncing human rights violations. At ICIP, we also support promoting dialogue at all levels, beginning with the various diaspora groups, to overcome prejudices and heal wounds. Based on the memory of the traumatizing events in the country of origin or in the migratory process, this dialogue should help lay the foundation for current and future coexistence. At the same time, it is also necessary to increase dialogue initiatives between the migrant population and the host country’s population and institutions. This horizontal dialogue, based on dignity and mutual recognition, should help overcome institutional and cultural barriers and create the conditions for migrants to contribute their knowledge and commitment to the host society.
We understand diaspora as a heterogeneous group of migrants, refugees and exiles, with emotional and social ties to their country of origin
ICIP’s work in support of diaspora communities received a significant boost from the collaboration agreement with the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition of Colombia. Over three years (2019-2022), ICIP acted as the Technical Secretariat of the Commission in Europe and promoted the coordination of one hundred social, academic and institutional organizations, Colombian and international, in ten European countries and gathering 800 testimonies of victims living in Europe.[3]
Similarly, ICIP’s “Violence in non-war settings” program works mainly with organizations committed to peace and human rights in Mexico, and more recently, we have begun working in Central America. Furthermore, in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine and the war against Palestine, we have been in contact with diaspora communities from those two countries, as well as from Syria and Lebanon.[4]
In addition to supporting social organizations, ICIP is also dedicated to documentation and knowledge production. In 2025, as part of the “Tools for Peace, Security and Justice” book series, we will publish the work methodology carried out with migrant women by the organization Mujer Diáspora. And we have recently published the ICIP Report Women and Peacebuilding from the Diaspora and Exile in Europe, which addresses the relationship between diaspora, conflicts and peacebuilding from a gender perspective. The document describes how diaspora communities have proven to be spaces of empowerment, solidarity, co-responsibility and mutual support that have facilitated their forms of organization.
Now, with the publication of this monograph, we aim to delve deeper into diasporic identities, how they are shaped and how they change over time, and what legal frameworks recognize them at local, regional and international levels. At the same time, we want to focus on concrete experiences of participation in peacebuilding processes and the daily experiences of people who have been forced to leave their countries of origin as a result of violence.
With this monograph, we want to delve into diasporic identities, how they are shaped and how they change over time, and what legal frameworks recognize them, at local, regional and international levels
In the first article, Metka Herzog and Lisa Ott of swisspeace analyze the participation of refugees from Colombia and Syria in peacebuilding initiatives in their countries of origin, in Switzerland and Germany, respectively. The article reveals how participation is crucial to recognising exiles and their symbolic reparation.
The monograph then focuses on the second and third generations in the diaspora. Academics Bahar Baser (United Kingdom) and Mari Toivanen (Finland) reflect on how the descendants of refugees can inherit past traumas and be linked to a commitment to peace. At the same time, the article notes the need for networking and collaboration with local actors to make an effective contribution.
The article by Fanny Tittel-Mosser, a researcher at the International Center for Migration Policy Development, explores different public policies – from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the EU Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion for 2021-2027 to the national agendas of Georgia or Chad – to show how policymakers are beginning to recognize the potential of diaspora communities in peacebuilding activities.
After these theoretical reflections, we include the personal experiences of three people who have had to migrate because of violence. First, Lebanese activist Carmen Geha, exiled in Catalonia, tells us about the effects of war on the civilian population in Lebanon and the consequences of migration, both physical and psychological and geographical. Carmen focuses on the exiled women activists who, for years, fought for freedom and equality in a country governed by warlords: “Migration isolates us; we are now an individual, not a group,” she explains. However, she trusts in the strength of consolation and care and hopes to work for the reconstruction of the country from afar.
We want to disseminate and recognize the work of migrants, refugees and exiles in building more just and peaceful societies
Also sharing the emotional impact of migration is Syrian activist and writer Marcell Shehwaro, who reflects on the best way to engage in activism from exile. From her personal experience, Shehwaro advocates maintaining a commitment to one’s country of origin, with visible and active struggles, but without overshadowing voices from within the country. At the same time, she advocates defending the rights of exiles in their host countries in alliance with local movements.
Finally, we publish an interview with Zoya Miari, a Palestinian-Ukrainian refugee. After fleeing, first from the violence of the refugee camps in Lebanon and then from the war in Ukraine, she currently lives in Switzerland, where she founded the project “Waves to Home” intending to shatter stereotypes and false narratives associated with migration, exile and asylum. When she was just 22 years old, Zoya Miari became a One Young World Peace Ambassador.
This publication, disseminating the peacebuilding work carried out by migrants, refugees and exiles – work that is scarcely known or recognized – marks a new milestone for ICIP. The articles – some of them written by victims and survivors – reflect the strength and commitment to build more just and peaceful societies through collective struggles and demands. We invite you to read carefully, with open and sensitive hearts.
[1] Data from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on the number of refugees, internally displaced persons and asylum seekers.
[2] See ICIP’s definition of peace included in the institution’s Strategic Plan 2024-2028.
[3] Exile and the Colombian Truth Commission: An unprecedented collaboration experience , ICIP and Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition of Colombia, 2023.
[4] In 2024, ICIP organized an international meeting with women activists from Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, in collaboration with the Institut Ramon Llull.
Photography
Movement workshop of the “Cuerpos Gramaticales” activity with the Colombian diaspora in Barcelona, 2017. Author: Ingrid Guyon.