Refugee Rights During the Twentieth Century: A Historical Approach

This chapter briefly overviews some of the most important international organizations that protected refugee rights during the twentieth century. In particular, it focuses on international organizations, such as the Allies, who created the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency, the International Refugee Organization, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In addition, insights are given by applying a historical approach and some inputs from law and economics perspectives. By briefly examining some of the most critical UNHCR Executive Committee’s Conclusions of the 1980s, this chapter demonstrates the codification of the State’s interests in the background of the protection of refugees’ human rights. Thus, the law and economics insights could better explain the interpretation of the historical events in the second part of the twentieth century since they underline the shift toward sustainable refugee solutions.