Gilbert Jaeger

ECRE's home page notes that Gilbert Jaeger, a refugee protection expert, has passed away. Mr. Jaeger began working for UNHCR in 1951 and retired in 1979. During his tenure, he served in many different capacities, including Economic Advisor, UNHCR Representative in Belgium, Director for Africa and Asia, Director of Assistance, and finally Director of Protection. Subsequently, he played a "key role in the development of ECRE since the early eighties." He was described in the 2001 IASFM conference report as "one of the key policy figures in [the 1951 Convention's] first half century..." (Wilde, 2001, p. 136).

His papers are archived with UNHCR.

This report notes that Mr. Jaeger was one of three authors of the well-known UNHCR Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status. Here is a partial bibliography of some of his other works, in reverse chronological order:

"Opening keynote address: the Refugee Convention at fifty," Chapter in The Refugee Convention at fifty: a view from forced migration studies, ed. by J. van Selm (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2003) [info.]

"On the history of the international protection of refugees," International Review of the Red Cross, no. 843 (2001): 727-737 [text]

"A Comment on the Distortion of the Palliative Role of Refugee Protection," Journal of Refugee Studies, vol. 8, no. 3 (1995): 300-01 [access; scroll down to page number]

"Refugees or migrants?," Chapter in NGOs and refugees: reflections at the turn of the century, ed. by M. Kjaerum et al. (Copenhagen: SOCPOL, 1993) [info.]

"Comparative Approaches to Refugee and Asylum Law," Chapter in Asylum Law and Practice in Europe and North America: A Comparative Analysis, ed. by G. Coll and J. Bhabha (Washington, DC: Federal Publications, 1992) [info.]

"Detention of asylum seekers in Belgium," Chapter in Asylum Law and Practice in Europe and North America: A Comparative Analysis, ed. by G. Coll and J. Bhabha (Washington, DC: Federal Publications, 1992) [info.]

"The 40th Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme (October 1989)," International Journal of Refugee Law, vol. 2, no. 1 (1990): 125-29 [text; scroll down to page number]

"Irregular movements: The concept and possible solutions," Chapter in The new asylum seekers: Refugee law in the 1980s. The Ninth Sokol Colloquium on international law, ed. by D. Martin (Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff, 1988) [info.]

"Political Asylum in North America and Western Europe," In Defense of the Alien, vol. 9 (1987): 85-96 [info.]

Study of Irregular Movements of Asylum Seekers and Refugees (UNHCR, 1985) [text]

"Refugee Asylum: Policy and Legislative Developments,” International Migration Review, vol. 15, nos. 1&2 (1981): 52-68 [access; scroll down to page number]

A succinct evaluation of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, Conference paper for Diakonischen Werkes der Evangelischen Kirche, Stuttgart, 25-27 November 1980 [text]

Status and international protection of refugees (Institut International des droits de l'homme, 1978) [English text; French text]

"Determination of Refugee Status under International Instruments," Chapter in African refugees and the law, ed. by G. Melander and P. Nobel (Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, 1978) [info.]

Tagged Publications.