UNHCR and the Afghan Refugees in the Early 1980s: Between Humanitarian Action and Cold War Politics

This article examines the UNHCR operation in Pakistan duringthe Soviet occupation of Afghanistan as a case study for thetension between UNHCR's strictly humanitarian mandate and thediverging interests of states. After situating the Afghan refugeecrisis in the broader historical context of the Cold War, itanalyses a number of documents from the UNHCR archives witha focus on the humanitarian principles that guide UNHCR's workon the one hand, and the influence of states and their political,economic, or military objectives on the UNHCR's operation onthe other. It concludes that UNHCR was aware of the negativeimpact of states’ policies and actions on the humanitariannature of its operation. However, due to the power differencebetween UNHCR and its members states as well as states hostingits operations, UNHCR had to accept these negative effects inorder to assure minimum assistance and protection for the Afghanrefugees in need.