UNHCR's worldwide presence in the field

UNHCR was established as a non-operational agency but has developed into a highly operational agency with a field presence in more than 100 states. In many inst... » 

UNHCR was established as a non-operational agency but has developed into a highly operational agency with a field presence in more than 100 states. In many instances this presence is based on a cooperation agreement and UNHCR has concluded more than 90 of those agreements. Unlike host state agreements, the cooperation agreements do not merely govern questions concerning the establishment and operation of a representative presence in the territory of states but also address substantive questions which allow UNHCR to operate in the field with tasks well beyond those originally envisaged. The book considers both aspects of the cooperation agreements in terms of the corresponding fields of law, that is, the law relating to international privileges and immunities and international refugee law respectively. With respect to the first-mentioned field of law, the analysis enables to demonstrate some systemic flaws which, in practice, affect UNHCR's operations in the field, and with respect to the latter, it allows to infer that the cooperation agreements are part and parcel of the international refugee law regime, indispensable parts at that. «