The risks to refugee law of humanitarian responses to flight from Ukraine

Abstract

This article argues that the humanitarian outpouring of support that has greeted those fleeing the war in Ukraine exposes fragility in international refugee law. Over and over again, humanitarianism has proven insufficient to address the protection needs of refugees. The politics of humanitarianism present many advantages to states and are potentially highly motivating to publics, but they are an insufficient substitute for legally-grounded human rights protections. The current humanitarian moment is raising a number of questions about refugee law, and is fostering considerable confusion about the role of law in responding to those fleeing Ukraine. Despite refugee law's imperfections and biases, in a world that is increasingly hostile to migrants, international refugee law is the strongest tool available. In the face of the humanitarian surge of the moment, it is important to defend the core protection commitments of refugee law, even as we work to improve the law's shortcomings. While it is tempting to shy away from anything that could be perceived as a critique of the compassion and generosity we are witnessing, as scholars and advocates we should use this moment to draw important lessons about how to strengthen refugee law.