UNHCR's mandate is to uphold the human rights of people who lack national protection. It has remained constant since the organization was established in 1950. Yet the challenges it meets in addressing these basic principles have changed over time, and past experiences have provided lessons for the future. The refugee protection regime was not established to address the root causes of conflict that create refugees, but the nature of the task of refugee protection will ensure that security issues will always be an integral part of it.

Today, security has multiple and interdependent dimensions. Expanded notions of human security recognize the importance of non-state agents and redefine a range of interventions as relevant to security. The awareness of these dimensions is fundamental to addressing the security concerns involved in refugee assistance. However, it risks evaluating the problems of refugees purely through the lens of security.

It is also important to remember that the many dimensions of security cannot always be integrated into one response. Almost all refugee-security strategies underline the need of the host state to fulfil its obligation to protect refugees within its borders. If a host state is unwilling or unable to do so, United Nations practice suggests that some type of international response may be an option. Security packages, while ameliorating some threats, often risk trying to do too many things at once. They cannot, ultimately, respond to the problems of militarization of refugee camps or cross-border conflict. These are issues which cannot be resolved solely through humanitarian response, but rather require intervention at the political level.

Preventive strategies

Box 3.1 Sexual and gender-based violence