Protracted Refugee Situations: A Feminist Perspective on Refugee Depiction by UNHCR

Abstract

Protracted refugee situations are some of the most complex political, human rights, and humanitarian challenges facing the international community today. While scholarship on the phenomenon typically focuses on empirical data using non-critical methods, this paper uses a feminist approach to study the discursive depiction of refugees in protracted situations by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). As the largest organization mandated with the protection of refugees and finding solutions for their plight, UNHCR has a unique responsibility, position, and capability to shape discourse and influence policy. Gendered characteristics used in the construction of protracted refugee narratives can contribute to the way protection is packaged, which accordingly can determine how states perceive and therefore respond to refugee situations at the community, state, regional, and international level. A qualitative content analysis of UNHCR documents obtained through the online resource Refworld reveals that UNHCR’s depiction of refugees in protracted situations as dependent burdens capable of self-reliance if empowered simultaneously genders them in feminine and masculine ways.