James Hathaway is right to say that we need a global solution to a global refugee crisis. He is right to say that the crisis unfolding in Europe is a symptom of more profound gaps in the global refugee regime. And he is right to emphasize the need to enable refugees to be self-reliant, to engage with the concerns of refugee-hosting states, and to make international cooperation for refugees more predictable.
But can this be accomplished by focusing primarily on the implementation of the 1951 Convention and pre-negotiated commitments from states, administered by an international organization such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)?
Probably not.
