Jean-Pierre Hocké (Switzerland): 1986–1989
© UNHCR
"Ultimately, the protection of refugees is not so much dependent on international conventions as it is on the collective conscience of nations."
Jean-Pierre Hocké served as Director of Operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross before joining us at UNHCR. As High Commissioner, he played a key role in launching the 'CIREFCA process' in Central America, helping to consolidate peace in the region by extending assistance to returnees and war-affected populations.
During his time in office, the Indochinese refugee crisis escalated and UNHCR worked hard to provide for the voluntary return of Vietnamese refugees. Our agency also began establishing and managing large camps for Ethiopian refugees in Sudan and for Somali refugees in Ethiopia.