Frequently
Asked Questions
What is UNHCR?
How many refugees are there today?
What does the UNHCR office Canberra do?
How is UNHCR funded?
Who is a refugee?
How are refugees protected?
What are the obligations of a refugee?
What rights does a refugee have?
Who decides who is a refugee?
Are persons fleeing war or war-related conditions such as famine
and ethnic violence refugees?
Who helps the internally displaced?
Must every refugee undergo individual status determination?
How does UNHCR distinguish between a refugee and an economic
migrant?
May governments deport persons who are found not to be refugees?
Can a criminal be a refugee?
Can a war criminal be a refugee?
Can a soldier be a refugee?
Are there asylum guidelines on stowaways or people rescued
at sea?
What is UNHCR?
The
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) is the UN Refugee Agency, with a specific mandate
to help protect refugees and help solve refugee problems
worldwide.
Established
in 1951, over the past five decades the agency has helped
an estimated 50 million people restart their lives.
Today, UNHCR has around 6,689 staff in 116 countries helping
some 20.8 million people.
UNHCR’s most important responsibility,
known as ‘international
protection’, is to ensure respect for the basic human
rights of refugees including their ability to seek asylum
and to ensure that no one is returned involuntarily to a
country
where he or she has reason to fear persecution.
UNHCR promotes
international refugee agreements, monitors government compliance
with international law and provides
material assistance
such as food, water, shelter and medical care to fleeing
civilians. UNHCR also seeks durable solutions for refugees
whether through
voluntary repatriation, integration into country of first
asylum, or resettlement to a third country.
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How many refugees
are there today?
There are about 32.9 million people of
concern to UNHCR as at January 2007. Of these 9.9 million are refugees
as defined
by the Refugee Convention or those given prima facie recognition
as part of mass influxes.
The remaining 23 million of concern
to UNHCR are made up of:
- About 12.8 million internally displaced
people (IDPs) who flee from their homes for the same reasons
as refugees but who
remain within their own country. This figure represents only a portion
of the estimated 25 million IDPs worldwide who are not
specifically covered by the Refugee Convention.
- About 2.6 million returnees – 1.1 million refugees who have voluntarily
returned to their countries of origin but who remain of
concern to UNHCR because we monitor their reintegration
and provide
assistance. There are also 519,430 IDP returnees.
- About 740,000 asylum-seekers,
people who are seeking to be recognised as refugees but
are still in the
determination process.
- About 30,500 refugees who are resettled elsewhere.
- About 3.2 million others, including stateless and others.
Bar
graph of persons of concern to UNHCR by category (pdf
77Kb).
Annual number of persons of concern to UNHCR, by region and pie graph (pdf
105Kb).
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What does the UNHCR
office
Canberra do?
In the Canberra, the Regional
Office for Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and
the South Pacific provides legal, resettlement
and information services:
The Legal
Protection Unit liaises with governments
in the region on refugee and asylum policy. It provides
training for officials working with refugees and advises
authorities on best international standards in respect
to legislation, policy and procedures. UNHCR also monitors
the application of the Refugee Convention in the region
and intervenes in individual cases when they raise important
issues of principle, which set standards for the wider
protection of refugees.
The Resettlement section
works closely with the Australian and New Zealand immigration
authorities on the composition of their quotas for resettled
refugees and assists in the submission of individual cases.
The Public
Information Unit raises awareness about
UNHCR's work and refugee issues amongst parliamentarians,
schools, the media and the general public. It is the
first point of contact for media in the region and can
provide the latest information on UNHCR's work world-wide.
The Regional Office Canberra also has a wide range of
educational resources and display materials for teachers,
community groups and the general public.
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How is UNHCR funded?
UNHCR
is almost entirely funded by direct, voluntary contributions
from governments (94 percent of total contributions) and
other donors such as corporations, trusts and individuals.
There
is also a very limited subsidy from the regular budget
of the United Nations, which is used exclusively for administrative
costs.
For further informations on donors to UNHCR click here
In Australia, UNHCR’s national association
Australia for UNHCR raises funds to support UNHCR’s
work overseas. Click here to find out more...
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Who
is a refugee?
A refugee is a person who "owing
to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of
race, religion, nationality,
membership of a particular social group, or political opinion,
is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable
to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself
of the
protection of that country…"
Article 1, The
1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
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How
are refugees protected?
Governments normally guarantee the
basic human rights and physical security of their citizens.
But when civilians
become refugees
this safety net disappears. UNHCR's main role in pursuing
international protection is to ensure that states are aware
of, and act on,
their obligations to protect refugees and persons seeking
asylum. However, it is not a supranational organization
and cannot
be considered as a substitute for government responsibility.
Countries may not forcibly return refugees to a territory
where they face danger or discriminate between groups of
refugees.
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What are
the obligations of a refugee?
Refugees are required to respect
the laws and regulations of their country of asylum.
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What rights
does a refugee have?
A refugee has the right to safe asylum.
However, international protection comprises more than physical
safety. Refugees
should receive at least the same rights and basic help
as any other
foreigner who is a legal resident, including freedom of
thought, of movement and freedom from torture and degrading
treatment.
Economic and social rights are equally applicable. Refugees
should have access to medical care, schooling and the right
to work.
In certain circumstances when adequate
government resources are not immediately available, including
the sudden
arrival
of large numbers of uprooted persons, UNHCR and other
international organizations provide assistance such as financial
grants,
food, tools and shelter, schools and clinics. With income-generating
and skill training projects, UNHCR makes every effort
to ensure that refugees become self-sufficient as quickly
as possible.
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Who decides who is
a refugee?
Governments establish status determination
procedures to decide a person's legal standing and rights
in accordance with their
own legal systems. UNHCR may offer advice as part of its
mandate to promote refugee law, protect refugees and supervise
the
implementation of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The agency
advocates that governments adopt a rapid, flexible and
liberal process,
recognizing how difficult it often is to document persecution.
UNHCR's
70-member Executive Committee sets non-binding guidelines and
the agency's "Handbook
on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status" is
an authoritative interpretation of the 1951 Convention. In
countries which
are not party to
international refugee instruments but who request UNHCR's
assistance, the agency may determine a person's refugee
status and offer
its protection and assistance.
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Are persons
fleeing war or war-related conditions such as famine and
ethnic violence
refugees?
The 1951 Geneva Convention, the main international
instrument of refugee law, does not specifically address
the issue
of civilians fleeing conflict, though in recent years major
refugee movements have resulted from civil wars, ethnic,
tribal and
religious violence.
However, UNHCR considers that persons
fleeing such conditions, and whose state is unwilling or
unable to protect them,
should be considered refugees. Regional instruments such
as Africa's
OAU Convention and the Cartagena Declaration in Latin America
support this view.
Some countries argue that civilians fleeing
generalized war or who fear persecution by non-state groups
such as
militias
and rebels, should not be given formal refugee status.
It is UNHCR's view that the origin of the persecution should
not
be decisive in determining refugee status, but rather whether
a person deserves international protection because it is
not available in the country of origin.
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Who helps the internally
displaced?
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) flee
their homes for the same reasons as refugees, but remain
within
their own
country
and are thus subject to the laws of that state. Though
it does not have a specific mandate for IDPs, UNHCR assists
several
million in various crises, but not all of the estimated
25
million displaced persons worldwide.
These operations are
initiated at the request of the U.N. Secretary-General or
the General Assembly, with the consent
of the country involved
and have included recent crises in Colombia, the Middle
East, the Balkans, Africa, Afghanistan, Timor and Sri Lanka.
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Must every
refugee undergo individual status determination?
People
who apply for refugee status normally need to establish
individually that their fear of persecution
is well-founded.
However, during a mass exodus such as occurred from Kosovo
or Africa's Great Lakes, it may not be possible to carry
out individual screening. In such circumstances, particularly
when
civilians are fleeing for similar reasons, it may be appropriate
to declare 'group' determination of refugee status, whereby
each civilian is considered as a refugee, prima facie – in
other words, in the absence of evidence to the contrary.
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How does UNHCR distinguish
between a refugee and an economic migrant?
An economic migrant
normally leaves a country voluntarily to seek a better life.
Should he or she elect to return
home, they would continue to receive the protection of
their government.
Refugees flee because of the threat of persecution and
cannot return safely to their homes in the prevailing circumstances.
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Many governments
deport persons who are found not to be refugees?
Persons who
have been determined, under an equitable procedure, not to
be in need of international protection are in a
situation similar to that of illegal aliens, and may be
deported. However,
UNHCR does urge that protection be granted to people who
come from countries devastated by armed conflicts or generalized
violence. The agency also advocates that rejected asylum
seekers
be granted the right to a review before being deported.
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Can a
criminal be a refugee?
A criminal who has received a fair
trial for a common law offence and who flees his country
to escape jail is not necessarily a refugee. However, a person
accused of these or other non-political
crimes, whether innocent or guilty, and who may also be
persecuted for political or other reasons, is not necessarily
excluded
from refugee status. Furthermore, people convicted of the
'crime'
of political activism may well be refugees.
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Can a
war criminal be a refugee?
Persons who have participated in
war crimes and violations of international humanitarian and
human rights
law – including
the crime of terrorism – are specifically excluded
from the protection accorded to refugees.
In practice,
especially during a mass exodus, it is sometimes difficult
to separate persons suspected of serious human
rights violations from bona fide refugees especially
for a humanitarian
organization such as UNHCR which is neither a police
force or a judicial body. In the 1990s, for instance, known
violators
were living in the huge refugee camps for Rwandans established
in surrounding countries.
The most viable solution is
to provide support initiatives such as the international
tribunals for Rwanda and the
former Yugoslavia, to bring war criminals to justice.
UNHCR is obligated
to share with these and other relevant U.N. organizations
pertinent facts on such issues while sensitively handling
information
which refugees have confidentially divulged to field
staff.
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Can a
soldier be a refugee?
A refugee is a civilian. A person who
continues to pursue armed action against his or her country
of origin from
the country
of asylum cannot be considered a refugee.
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Are there
asylum guidelines on stowaways or people rescued at sea?
Shipmasters
have an obligation under international law to rescue any
persons in distress at sea.
In some cases,
such
as the
exodus of Vietnamese boat people, such persons
were asylum-seekers. Clandestine stowaways
may also be
asylum-seekers.
Persons rescued at sea should
be disembarked at the next port of call, where they should
be admitted,
at least
on a temporary
basis, pending resettlement. Some flag states
of rescuing ships have provided guarantees
of resettlement
for
rescued persons.
There is no binding international
convention relating to stowaway asylum-seekers and their
reception
varies widely.
UNHCR advocates
that, wherever possible, stowaways should
be allowed to disembark at the first port of call,
where their
refugee status may
be determined by the local authorities. If
a port state does not
allow a stowaway to disembark, and the ship's
next port of call is in a state where the
stowaway's life is threatened,
then the action is tantamount to forcible
return (refoulement).
In such cases, UNHCR officials try
to arrange an on board interview and if the asylum seeker
is
found to
be a refugee,
they assist
in finding a permanent solution, usually
third country resettlement.
For more basic
facts, including information on our High
Commissioners and other
FAQs, please go to the UNHCR
main web site.
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Refugees by Numbers 2006 edition
Refugee Statistics
NGO
Partnerships in Refugee Protection
Internally
Displaced Persons Q&A