Addressing Inequities in the International Refugee Regime: Exploring Burden Sharing Strategies to Improve Refugee Protection

Abstract

Host countries are often forced to assume responsibility for most of the burden related to refugee crises and protracted refugee situations, despite wide participation of United Nations (UN) member states in the international refugee regime. This paper will explore whether the UN should create and implement an official burden sharing agreement in order to more equitably address refugee crises and protracted refugee situations, and if so, what style of burden sharing agreement would be most effective. After identifying and defining key terms and concepts, I will analyze the 1951 Convention and how refugee protection has been inadequate due to inequitable sharing of the refugee burden. I will use the Syrian refugee crisis and refugee situation in Tanzania as case studies. Two burden sharing policy options will be assessed in this paper: a global, pre-established scheme suggested by James C. Hathaway, and a regional, ad-hoc scheme modeled after the Comprehensive Plan of Action for Indochinese Refugees. I will finish by recommending the option that I believe will provide the best burden sharing strategy for the international refugee regime.