Unpacking World Refugee Day: Humanitarian Governance and Human Rights Practice?

The author argues that World Refugee Day (WRD) functions as a tool for the UNHCR to recast refugee agency as an extension of its own humanitarian efforts, effectively acting as a 'surrogate state' for displaced people. By analyzing the 'World Pays Tribute' news story, the paper highlights a tension between the celebratory, de-politicized imagery of WRD—which often uses 'utopian representations' of joyful refugees—and the 'extra-democratic' realities of UNHCR governance, such as the 'warehousing' of refugees in camps and procedural gaps in refugee status determination.

• The author contends that World Refugee Day (WRD) serves as a governance discourse that homogenizes and de-politicizes the experiences of displaced people, framing their agency as a result of UNHCR's humanitarian work rather than their own emancipation.
• The UNHCR is described as functioning like a 'surrogate state' for refugees, creating a divide between 'sub-citizens' (refugees who must follow specific scripts of suffering or gratitude to be heard) and 'supra-citizens' (UNHCR staff and international experts who move freely across borders).
• The use of high-profile celebrities like Angelina Jolie in WRD celebrations is analyzed as a 'redemption narrative' designed to attract donor funds and political support from audiences in the Global North.
• The author argues that WRD celebrations often rely on 'utopian representations' and simulations that obscure the harsh realities of displacement, such as the conditions of internally displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka or Palestinians in the Al Waleed camp.
• There is a documented tension between the UNHCR's self-identification as a human rights organization and its actual practices, specifically regarding 'warehousing' (confining refugees to camps) and gaps in Refugee Status Determination (RSD) procedures.
• The UNHCR's budget grew significantly leading up to the period discussed, reaching a record US$2 billion in 2009, up from US$1.8 billion in 2008.

APA

Sandvik, K. B. (n.d.). Unpacking World Refugee Day: Humanitarian Governance and Human Rights Practice? Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/4bb326e2-735e-4f2c-be10-7fa0c3dd4c1c/Unpacking World Refugee Day Humanitarian Governance and Human Rights Practice.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Sandvik, Kristin Bergtora. Unpacking World Refugee Day: Humanitarian Governance and Human Rights Practice? Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/4bb326e2-735e-4f2c-be10-7fa0c3dd4c1c/Unpacking World Refugee Day Humanitarian Governance and Human Rights Practice.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sandvik |first1=Kristin Bergtora |title=Unpacking World Refugee Day: Humanitarian Governance and Human Rights Practice? |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/4bb326e2-735e-4f2c-be10-7fa0c3dd4c1c/Unpacking World Refugee Day Humanitarian Governance and Human Rights Practice.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sandvikndunpacking, author = {Sandvik, Kristin Bergtora}, title = {{Unpacking World Refugee Day: Humanitarian Governance and Human Rights Practice?}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/4bb326e2-735e-4f2c-be10-7fa0c3dd4c1c/Unpacking World Refugee Day Humanitarian Governance and Human Rights Practice.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }