Human rights, power politics, and the international refugee regime

This publication contains an examination of US treatment of Caribbean Basin refugees, placed within the broader context of US foreign policy and its relations with the UNHCR. The authors begin by offering an overview of the types of national responses to refugee flows and the main characteristics of the UNHCR mandate. The main body of the paper examines US foreign policy and, subsequently, refugee policy, with regard to the countries in the Caribbean Basin. It does so with regard to three administrations, those of Kennedy, Carter and Reagan. The authors conclude by pointing out that geopolitical and ideological considerations continue to determine heavily US decisions in the granting of asylum. They suggest that the UNHCR assume a stronger and more public role in this hemisphere of the world in order to compel the next US administration better to fulfil its obligations under international refugee law.