Basic
Facts
What
is UNHCR?
The Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees was established
on December 14, 1950 by the United
Nations
General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate
international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee
problems world-wide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard
the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure
that
everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe
refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily,
integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.
In more
than five decades, the agency has helped an estimated 50
million people restart their lives. Today, a staff of
around 6,000 people in 250 offices in 115 countries continues
to help
an estimated 17 million persons. About 85 per cent of its
staff work in the field, 60 per cent of them in often difficult
and
dangerous non-family duty stations.
Mission
Statement (pdf 18 Kb)
The UNHCR's purpose,
objectives, principles and responsibilities.
Basic
Definitions
Who is a refugee? What
is refugee status? How is the term 'refugee' misused? What
makes a refugee different?
Basic
Obligations
What is the Convention and what
obligations does it place on the State and the refugee?
Copy
of the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol (pdf 268Kb).
The
1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees is the key
legal document
in defining who is a
refugee, their
rights
and the legal obligations of states.
The
1951 Convention Questions and Answers (pdf 1,672 Kb)
1951
to Today
A history of the Refugee
Convention.
Helping
Refugees (pdf
1,1MB)
A look at how UNHCR
operates in a changing world, who it
helps, where
and how.
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