The Surrogate State? : The Role and Capacity of Non-State Organizations in Substituting the Responsibilities of the State for Providing Education to Venezuelan Refugee Children in Trinidad and Tobago

Sammanfattning: According to the 1951 Refugee Convention, it is the state’s responsibility to protect and provide basic services to the refugees within their border. However, even if ratified to the Convention, it is common that the state decides to relinquish its responsibilities for various reasons. In Trinidad and Tobago, no national refugee policy has been adopted since the ratification of the 1951 Refugee Convention, despite the country having the largest number of Venezuelan refugees per capita. Consequently, UNHCR-determined refugee children continue to be excluded from accessing local schools. In this regard, this thesis aims to explore the role of non-state organizations in replacing the State’s responsibilities to provide education to Venezuelan refugee children in Trinidad and Tobago (TT), and to investigate their capacity as the Surrogate State. The research was conducted through thematic analysis of 8 semi-structured interviews with staff from non-state organizations in TT involved in the provision of refugee education, combined with document analysis. The results suggest that non-state actors, while respecting state sovereignty and operating within the national government's framework, have significant control over decisions and programs for refugee education in the country. This allows them to function as the non-sovereign Surrogate State, especially concerning refugee education.