The Origins of UNHCR’s Global Mandate on Statelessness

Abstract

Why did the United Nations General Assembly confer upon the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) a broad global mandate to address statelessness only in 1995 (four decades after the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons was adopted) and not before? To address this question, this article examines the evolving relationship between UNHCR and the international community in regard to statelessness before 1995, drawing upon UNHCR archival records and official documents, Executive Committee conclusions, and General Assembly resolutions. Contrary to popular perception, UNHCR attempted to engage states on statelessness during the Cold War, exceeding its formal powers in doing so. However, states remained indifferent to UNHCR’s efforts. After the Cold War, the international community grew increasingly concerned with mass influxes of refugees possibly resulting from large-scale situations of statelessness in Eastern Europe, and pressured UNHCR to assume greater responsibility for averting such crises – and UNHCR was willing to do so. By 1995, the timing was opportune for the international community to empower UNHCR to lead the global effort against statelessness. As this article demonstrates, the refugee problem remained central to actions involving – and attitudes towards – statelessness by UNHCR and the international community, both during and after the Cold War.