“My only address is this ship”: Refugee seamen and the work of UNHCR, 1950s–1960s

This article analyses the status and experiences of refugee seamen following the Second World War in the light of intervention by UNHCR, the United Nations Office for Refugees. UNHCR portrayed them as a distinct group of persons, mainly of East European origin, who wandered the globe without any right or expectation of being allowed to disembark and settle permanently. The 1951 UN Refugee Convention provided little protection, merely inviting signatory states to give refugee seafarers ‘sympathetic consideration’. A breakthrough came about with the 1957 Hague Agreement Relating to Refugee Seamen which entered into force in 1961. The article draws upon UNHCR case files to examine what refugee seamen disclosed of their situation during the Cold War and the possible remedies available including from UNHCR. By this means the article contributes to a granular and historically contextualised discussion of refugeedom.