Meeting the ethical challenges of refugee assistance to repatriate

Millions of refugees flee their homes and seek asylum abroad every year. Upon arrival, many are forced into enclosed camps with minimal provisions or are unable to gain residency rights in the host country. Facing these difficulties, they often resort to a high-risk return to their country of origin. Mollie Gerver considers when and whether humanitarian organisations, the United Nations, and government agencies ought to help with repatriation. Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork involving 172 refugees throughout the repatriation process, this study puts a human face on debates about migration. Gerver skilfully organises the discussion into seven ethical dilemmas that typically arise in repatriation and resolves each by using the tools of analytic philosophy. Readers will therefore gain a deeper understanding of the particular challenges arising from the process of refugee assistance and a comprehensive set of guidelines for applying moral principles in practice.

Mollie Gerver is a Lecturer in International Politics at Newcastle University.