Migration Management and Humanitarian Protection

The UNHCR's 'Resettlement Expansionism' and Its Impact on Policy-making in the EU and Australia

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3651995
AutoresAdele Garnier (0000-0003-3244-0708, Universitas Garut, autor correspondente)
Ano2014
Volume40
Fascículo6
Páginas942-959
Data de publicação2014-06-03
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoNew Community (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0047-9586 • E-ISSN: 1469-9451
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1369183x.2013.855075
OpenAlexW2091062476
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas16
Referências citadas12

Since the late 1990s, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has been a key actor in the resurgence of refugee resettlement in global debates on asylum and refugee policies. This article investigates the dynamics of the international organisation's 'resettlement expansionism' within the UNHCR as well as its impact on policy-making. Firstly, it analyses how the UNHCR has increased its expertise production and dissemination as well as its operational focus on resettlement. Secondly, it assesses the policy-making impact of the UNCR's 'resettlement expansionism' in two distinct contexts: the elaboration of the EU's new joint resettlement scheme and the recent increase of resettlement places by 40% in Australia, a traditional country of resettlement. Lastly, it discusses potential implications of this research in regards to the evolution of the global refugee regime and, more conceptually, to the study of knowledge production and expertise in migration and refugee policy.Keywords: Migration PolicyRefugee ResettlementUNHCRAustraliaEuropean Union Notes[1] A comprehensive account of resettlement-related activities in the EU between 2007 and 2010 is given in the refugee resettlement newsletters released by the Churches Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME), see http://www.ccme.be/areas-of-work/refugee-protection/.[2] See the 'Linking in' newsletter on refugee resettlement jointly released by the IOM, the UNHCR and ICMC at http://www.icmc.net/system/files/news/linking_in_newsletter_1_november_2011_52889.pdf.[3] As the RCOA puts it, 'every time an onshore applicant [an asylum-seeker] is granted a protection visa, a place is deducted from the offshore program [the refugee resettlement programme] (...) Australia is "the only country in the world to link its onshore and offshore programs in this way."' This link was introduced by the newly elected Howard government in 1996. See http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/resources/rhp.php.[4] Funding for UNHCR has overall considerably expanded under the Rudd and Gillard governments from 16.7 million USD in 2007 to 56.5 million USD in 2011––yet the proportion of funding that is not earmarked to particular projects has remained relatively stable (about 30%), thus constraining the UNHCR's agenda-setting autonomy. In parallel however, Australian private donations to UNHCR also significantly expanded, from 1.1 million USD in 2006 to 13.6 million in 2011. See http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/page?page = 49e487af6&submit = GO

Business · Commission · Economic growth · Economics · European union · Expansionism · International trade · Political science · Politics · Refugee · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Migration, Health and Trauma · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Public Administration