Humanitarian Legacy

The height of the Indochinese refugee crisis came during the middle of Jimmy Carter’s presidency. Carter’s administration faced the challenge of navigating international and domestic outcries to assist Indochinese refugees in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and during the Third Indochina War. This article sheds light on the role of the first assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, Patricia Murphy “Patt” Derian. Within the debate over her success at the Department of State, scholarship has yet to provide insight into Derian’s involvement in the Indochinese refugee crisis and how a multitude of factors, such as international, bureaucratic, and Congressional pressures, impacted her decision-making. Indeed, historical recognition of Derian’s human rights activism is limited to primarily Latin America, Western Asia, and Africa. By enlarging the historical lens around Derian’s influence on the dilemma, this article seeks to contextualize U.S. policymaking surrounding refugees, human rights, and humanitarianism.