Description
When it comes to 'solving' so-called displacement crises, regional host states (RHS) increasingly stress the need for refugee returns. Despite many refugees being unwilling to comply, some RHSs have even begun implementing so-called 'voluntary' returns to conflict areas. Much of the existing literature on migration diplomacy around refugee returns has focused on RHS' bilateral strategies and the role of states in the Global North in refugee repatriation. However, what has received less attention is how non-state actors, in particular the United Nations (UN), shape these processes beyond the mere implementation of repatriation agreements. Using the return of refugees from Jordan to Syria as a case study, the paper unpacks how the UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR), as an international organization, enables refugee returns to Syria. Thereby, it contrasts its role as an actor driven by Western donors' interests to other multilateral non-state actors from outside (e.g., European Union) and within the region (League of Arab States), highlighting how its involvement in repatriating refugees helps to circumvent refugee protection norms within the global refugee regime. Its insights can inform research on the role of intergovernmental organizations vis-à-vis refugee policy and repatriation in other regional contexts.
