UNHCR’s Expansion to the GCC States: Establishing a UNHCR Presence in Saudi Arabia 1987-1993

Abstract

How did the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) establish its presence in states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)? And how did it negotiate the legal frameworks needed to formally operate in these states? To answer these questions, the article focuses on the historical case of Saudi Arabia. Based on UNHCR archival material and interviews with key actors (including Government officials, UNHCR staff and individuals formerly living as refugees), it details how an unprecedented opportunity for UNHCR to establish a formal presence in Saudi Arabia emerged in the context of the 1991 Gulf War. The article argues that Saudi Arabia’s hosting of Iraqi refugees in the Rafha camp provided a watershed moment for UNHCR to carve out an official presence by, first, negotiating a Note Verbale providing UNHCR with official recognition in 1992, and second, a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 1993. Importantly, this MoU provides the basis for UNHCR-Saudi relations up to this day.