This article examines an attempt by the government of Uganda and unhcr to implement a developmental ‘Self Reliance Strategy’ in response to the needs of 188 000 long-term Sudanese refugees and their hosts in Uganda, and analyses some of the conceptual, political and practical issues arising from it. It contends that conditions of extreme insecurity in the north of the country, and the fact that refugees in Uganda do not enjoy freedom of movement, undermine from the outset prospects for a successfully integrative and developmental approach to refugee assistance.