The Long Wait: Filling data gaps relating to refugees and displaced people in the Calais camp

In February 2016, the Refugee Rights Europe conducted a survey in the informal camp in Calais. In total, researchers spoke to 870 men, women, and children – about 15% of the camp’s total residents – making this the largest independent data collection to be carried out in Calais to date.

The United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR) collects statistics in official refugee camps. However, due to the unrecognised nature of the settlement in Calais, it has not been subject to the same in-depth analysis. Prior to this study, this sort of data simply did not exist. Refugee Rights EU set out to help fill this gap. The report contains data relating to the camp’s demographic composition, living conditions, potential human rights violations occurring among residents, and their future plans and aspirations