TY - JOUR AU - van Selm-Thorburn, Joanne PY - 1997/12/01 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - The Refugee-Security Dilemma in Europe JF - Refuge: Canada's Journal on Refugees JA - Refuge VL - 16 IS - 6 SE - Articles DO - 10.25071/1920-7336.21945 UR - https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/article/view/21945 SP - 9-15 AB - Focusing on two of the institutions involvedin the range of European activitieson conflict prevention anddisplacement in the wake of the Yugoslavcrisis, this article seeks to addressthe complex interplay of refugee protectionand security enhancing strategies.The conclusion to an analysis of themandates and expectations placed uponthe OSCE's High Commissioner onNational Minorities and the UnitedNations High Commissioner for Refugees is that the latter is at risk of abrogatingits responsibilities towardsrefugees and potentially misinterpretingthe motives of other (actual conflictprevention) organs in the internationalsecurity arena and their impact (or not)on displacement. The article places thisinstitutional and conceptual dilemma ofrefugee protection and security in thecontext of International Relations theories,and stands squarely against theview that refugees are themselves athreat to west European security. ER -