"The Greatest and Most Important Human Right": Citizenship and Bureaucratic Indifference in Refugee-UNHCR Correspondence
"The Greatest and Most Important Human Right": Citizenship and Bureaucratic Indifference in Refugee-UNHCR Correspondence (https://doi.org/10.21468/MigPol.3.1.001) was written by Lamis Abdelaaty in 2024. It was published in Migration Politics vol. 3.
As the title suggests, the author analyzes from UNHCR correspondence documentation. The lens of performative citizenship in particular is employed.
Refugees act as citizens of a global refugee state rather than customers/beneficiaries.
- Claim rights and duties.
- Formalize complaints and demand redress.
- Negotiate a social contract.
- "To legitimate their claims, the refugees adopt the language of international law and the refugee regime--UNHCR’s own vocabulary. They appeal to human rights and international norms, to UNHCR’s own responsibilities to refugee populations, and to the texts of international treaties".
Meanwhile UNHCR itself is paternalistic and bureaucratic. No democratic accountability. Views refugees as subjects.
- Complaints against branch offices are routed to the branch office.
- UNHCR places significant value in maintaining branch offices, so bends to local governmental pressure.
- Bureaucratic design makes this perspective inevitable?