Finally, the conclusion outlined policy recommendations for the socioeconomic inclusion of undocumented migrant children, refugee children, and children born to asylum seekers and refugees in Zimbabwe to address generational refugeeism and to prevent the proliferation of statelessness. The paper has pointed to the implications of these citizenship alterities and identified some of the policy and legislative gaps around the documentation of migrant children born in Zimbabwe's refugee camps. Within this grey borderland, the status of asylum seekers, not of concern persons and refugees, and the protracted nature of their refugee experience produces generational (undocumented) refugees, which in effect renders them more susceptible to becoming stateless. ![]() In this specific context of fragility and forced displacement, these undocumented children seemingly inhabit a 'grey borderland' that lies between sovereign states. It has used this fragile context to explore the citizenship alterities of children born to asylum seekers and refugees who are undocumented and/or stateless persons who reside in this refugee camp. This paper focused on the case of Tongogara Refugee Camp in Chipinge, Zimbabwe. Key words: Challenges, Palliatives, self-settlement, encampment, refugee child, basic education. This study emphasises that even though the States are the primary duty-bearers, they cannot effectively guarantee the practical realisation of the right to basic education for refugee children without proper and efficient co-ordination with other stakeholders which include the refugee children themselves refugee parents civil society organisations refugee communities and the international community. The study also found that there is usually lack of co-ordination in refugee education, including complex power dynamics which limit the productivity of partnerships amongst service providers and between the states and civil society organisations. These challenges include amongst others the lack of awareness of the right to basic education amongst refugees language barrier accessing basic educational institutions absenteeism of learners shortage of infrastructure negative cultural, religious barriers and ethnic groups’ issues corporal punishment availability of resources teacher-student ratios and shortage of quality teachers and lack of structures including remuneration and training to retain them, to mention but just a few. The study found that there are a number of challenges that act as barriers to the right to basic education for refugee children. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to select the respondents relevant for the purposes of data collection for this research. Additionally, it examines the compliance level of South Africa and Zimbabwe with international and regional human rights standards. ![]() ![]() ![]() Fundamentally, this dissertation identifies and explores the legal mechanisms and policies that have been put in place by the governments of South Africa and Zimbabwe to practically realise the right to basic education for refugee children. Using the Human Rights-Based Approach as a theoretical base this study examines the factors which militate against the best efforts of the stakeholders to make the right to basic education a reality for refugee children. The research is presented through the ‘lived realities’ of the affected refugee children in Musina town and Tongogara Refugee Camp. It argues that despite the existence of national, regional and global human rights standards that seek to protect, respect and fulfill refugee children’s rights, this vulnerable group of persons in South Africa and Zimbabwe, particularly in Musina town and Tongogara Refugee Camp, are still victims of a wide range of constraints to their socio-economic rights, especially their right to basic education. This research examines generally the challenges and palliatives to the right to basic education for refugee children.
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