Description
Based on sources from UNHCR, the Vietnamese communist government in the South (the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam, PRG), and the American government, this paper unravels the entangled histories of humanitarianism, Cold War rivalry, and international refugee policy. It shows how after the Paris Accords of 1973, UNHCR sought a strategy to gain credibility in the ‘Third World’, become more independent from its largest donor, the United States, and define itself as a ‘neutral and apolitical’ humanitarian player by providing humanitarian assistance to all parties – capitalist and communist alike – in Vietnam. This strategy continued when the Republic of Vietnam in the south was defeated, which led to a stronger collaboration with the Vietnamese communist regimes in both the north and the south until the country was reunified in July 1976. However, the emphasis on humanitarian assistance inside Vietnam had detrimental effects for refugees outside of the country, who failed to attain legal protection from UNHCR in that first crucial period of flight.
