The Forgotten Frontline: What the Refugee Crisis in Chad Reveals About the Limits of the Global Refugee System

As of 26 October 2025, eastern Chad is hosting around 880,000 Sudanese refugees and 330,000 Chadian returnees. Most of those displaced are children. The situation has become increasingly critical as violence in Sudan, particularly in North Darfur, continues to force people across the border. Since April 2025 alone, more than 100,000 people have arrived in Chad seeking protection.

While the scale of displacement is staggering, the crisis has received relatively little international attention. Chad has quietly become one of the world’s primary host countries for refugees, despite facing significant economic and social challenges of its own. The country is grappling with climate stress, violence from armed groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province, as well as chronic underdevelopment and political instability. In the Lake Chad Basin, these pressures have converged into a humanitarian emergency.

Yet the situation in Chad is not only a humanitarian crisis. It also exposes deeper structural problems within the international refugee protection regime.

A System Built on Unequal Burdens

At the center of the international refugee system lies the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (‘1951 Convention’), which establishes the fundamental rights of refugees and the obligations of states toward them. Among its most important principles is non-refoulement, the prohibition against returning individuals to places where they face persecution or serious harm.

However, while the Convention defines important protection standards, it does not establish a binding system of responsibility-sharing among states. In practice, this means that countries located near conflict zones, often low- or middle-income states, end up hosting the vast majority of the world’s displaced people. Chad is a striking example of this dynamic.

Countries in the Global South now host the overwhelming majority of the world’s refugees, which has become one of the most persistent criticisms of the international refugee regime. Wealthier states may contribute financially or through limited resettlement programs, but there is no enforceable mechanism requiring them to share responsibility in a meaningful or predictable way.

Life in Limbo

For many refugees in the Lake Chad Basin, displacement is not a temporary experience but a prolonged condition. Large numbers find themselves in a “protracted refugee situation”: a situation in which refugees remain in exile for years without access to durable solutions.

These solutions fall into three categories: voluntary return to the country of origin, local integration in the host state, or resettlement in a third country. In practice, however, each of these options is very difficult to achieve.

Ongoing conflict in Sudan makes return unsafe. Host states such as Chad, already under significant economic and political pressure, may hesitate to offer long-term integration to large refugee populations. Meanwhile, resettlement opportunities in wealthier countries remain extremely limited.

As a result, many refugees remain trapped in a state of uncertainty, unable to return home, yet unable to move elsewhere. These populations have been described as part of the “forgotten refugee crises”: groups that receive limited global attention and remain largely invisible in international debates.

Structural Limits of the Refugee Regime

The situation in Chad highlights several broader structural shortcomings within the global refugee protection framework.

First, the system lacks binding mechanisms for equitable responsibility-sharing. While international law encourages solidarity among states, cooperation largely depends on voluntary political commitments. Initiatives such as the Global Compact on Refugees attempt to promote greater cooperation, but they remain non-binding. That said, some scholars argue that responsibility-sharing is gradually emerging as a norm of customary international law.

Second, the refugee regime relies heavily on humanitarian assistance that must be mobilized and coordinated by international organizations. Agencies working on the ground provide essential support, including emergency shelter, access to clean water, healthcare services, and, in some cases, direct cash assistance to both refugees and host communities. These efforts are critical, but they are also resource-intensive and difficult to sustain.

Meeting these needs requires significant financial coordination. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (‘UNHCR’), together with its partners, is currently managing large-scale funding appeals, amounting to nearly one billion dollars for 2026, to support millions of people affected by displacement in Chad and the wider region. Despite these efforts, funding often falls short of what is required.

Third, there is increasing recognition that humanitarian assistance alone is insufficient without legal and policy frameworks that support longer-term inclusion. Advocacy groups have emphasized the importance of supporting Chad in implementing policies that grant refugees access to land, freedom of movement, and legal documentation. Such measures are essential for enabling refugees to rebuild their lives and contribute to local economies.

At the same time, the rapid influx of refugees, particularly those fleeing Sudan, has placed immense strain on already limited resources. Infrastructure, public services, and local economies are under pressure, underscoring the urgent need for sustained international support not only for displaced populations but also for the communities that host them.

Finally, the system was designed for a different era. The 1951 Convention emerged in the aftermath of World War II, initially addressing predominantly European displacement. Although its temporal and geographic limitations were later removed by the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, the framework continues to reflect assumptions about displacement that differ from today’s reality, where crises are often prolonged, involve millions of people, and are shaped by overlapping drivers such as armed conflict, economic instability, and climate change.

A Case Study of a Global Problem

The refugee crisis in eastern Chad is therefore not simply a regional issue. Rather, it illustrates the structural limitations of a system that protects refugees from immediate danger but struggles to provide long-term solutions.

Importantly, the situation does not necessarily represent a direct violation of international refugee law. The international framework guarantees protection from forced return and certain rights within the host state, but it does not ensure equitable burden-sharing or rapid access to durable solutions. As a result, countries like Chad can find themselves hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees for years with limited international support.

Seen in this light, the crisis in the Lake Chad Basin offers a striking case study of the gaps between the ideals of the international refugee regime and its actual functioning. Until those structural shortcomings are addressed, frontline states will continue to bear the greatest responsibility for protecting the world’s displaced populations, and the refugees themselves may remain in limbo.

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References

Table of International Treaties/Conventions

Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (adopted 28 July 1951, entered into force 22 April 1954) 189 UNTS 137

Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (adopted 31 January 1967, entered into force 4 October 1967) 606 UNTS 267

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Cover Image

Espen Røst / Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Utenriksdepartementet), via Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons.