The twice displaced: UNHCR’s role in evacuations

Abstract This article explores when, why, and how the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) engages in evacuations. Despite being a longstanding practice of the organization and its predecessors, evacuations remain underexamined both as a concept and a protection tool. While evacuations can be life-saving, they can also create further risks. They can provide people with temporary protection but also leave them in limbo. They can enable some refugees to be moved to safety while others never get that opportunity. In some cases, they can result in multiple displacements rather than a durable solution. Through a detailed examination of UNHCR records and other publications, as well as select interviews with current and former UNHCR officials, this article documents the range of circumstances in which UNHCR engages in evacuations and why. Developing a clearer understanding of how UNHCR conceptualizes evacuations in different contexts enables a more holistic and nuanced understanding of their function within the international protection regime and their relationship to other protection tools. In doing so, the article underscores that evacuations are not simply a neutral, technical process but are impacted by a range of political concerns, which necessarily affect protection outcomes.