name	United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
image size	240px
type	Programme
acronyms	UNHCR
head	António Guterres
status	Active
established	December 14, 1950
website	UNHCR.org
parent	United Nations
footnotes	}}

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland and is a member of the United Nations Development Group. The UNHCR has won two Nobel Peace Prizes, once in 1954 and again in 1981.

History

Following the demise of the League of Nations and the formation of the United Nations, the international community were acutely aware of the refugee crisis following the end of World War II. In 1947, the International Refugee Organization(IRO) was founded by the United Nations. The IRO was the first international agency to deal comprehensively with all aspects pertaining to refugees' lives. Preceding this was the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, which was established in 1944 to address the millions of people displaced through Europe as a result of World War II.

In the late 1940s, the IRO fell out of favour, but the United Nations agreed that a body was required to oversee global refugee issues. Despite many heated debates in the General Assembly, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was founded as a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly by resolution Resolution 319 (IV) of the United Nations General Assembly of December 1949. However, the organization was only intended to operate for 3 years, from January 1951, due to the disagreement of many UN member states over the implications of a permanent body.

UNHCR's mandate was originally set out in its Statute, annexed to Resolution 428 (V) of the United Nations General Assembly of 1950. This mandate has been subsequently broadened by numerous resolutions of the General Assembly and its Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). According to UNHCR,

[its] mandate is to provide, on a non-political and humanitarian basis, international protection to refugees and to seek permanent solutions for them.

Soon after the signing of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, it became clear that refugees were not solely restricted to Europe. In 1956, UNHCR was involved in coordinating the response to the uprising in Hungary. Just a year later, UNHCR was tasked with dealing with Chinese refugees in Hong Kong, while also responding Algerian refugees who had fled to Morocco and Tunisia in the wake of Algeria's war for independence. The responses marked the beginning of a wider, global mandate in refugee protection and humanitarian assistance.

Decolonization in the 1960s triggered large refugee movements in Africa, creating a massive challenge that would transform UNHCR; unlike the refugee crises in Europe, there were no durable solutions in Africa and many refugees who fled one country only found instability in their new country of asylum. By the end of the decade, two thirds of UNCHR's budget was focused on operations in Africa and in just one decade, the organization's focus had shifted from an almost exclusive focus on Europe.

In the 1970s, UNHCR refugee operations continued to spread around the globe, with the mass exodus of East Pakistanis to India shortly before the birth of Bangladesh. Adding to the woes in Asia was the Vietnam war, with millions fleeing the war-torn country.

The 1980s saw new challenges for UNHCR, with many member states unwilling to resettle refugees due to the sharp rise in refugee numbers over the 1970s. Often, these refugees were not fleeing wars between states, but inter-ethnic conflict in newly independent states. The targeting of civilians as military strategy added to the displacement in many nations, so even 'minor' conflicts could result in a large number of displaced persons. Whether in Asia, Central America or Africa, these conflicts, fueled by superpower rivalry and aggravated by socio-economic problems within the concerned countries, durale solutions continued to prove a massive challenge for the UNHCR. As a result, the UNHCR became more heavily involved with assistance programs within refugee camps, often located in hostile environments.

The end of the Cold War marked continued inter-ethnic conflict and contributed heavily to refugee flight. In addition, humanitarian intervention by multinational forces became more frequent and the media began to play a big role, particularly in the lead up to the 1999 NATO mission in Yugoslavia, while by contrast, the 1994 Rwandan Genocide had little attention. The genocide in Rwanda caused a massive refugee crisis, again highlighting the difficulties for UNHCR to uphold its mandate, and the UNHCR continued to battle against restrictive asylum policies in so called 'rich' nations.

Function

UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 and succeeded the earlier United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. 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.

UNHCR's mandate has gradually been expanded to include protecting and providing humanitarian assistance to whom it describes as other persons "of concern," including internally displaced persons (IDPs) who would fit the legal definition of a refugee under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and 1967 Protocol, the 1969 Organization for African Unity Convention, or some other treaty if they left their country, but who presently remain in their country of origin. UNHCR presently has major missions in Lebanon, South Sudan, Chad/Darfur, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan as well as Kenya to assist and provide services to IDPs and refugees.

Palestine refugee mandate

Most Palestinian refugees – those in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan – do not come within the responsibility of the UNHCR, but instead come under an older body, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). But Palestinian refugees outside of UNRWA's area of operations do fall under UNHCR's mandate, if they meet the UNHCR's more limited definition of refugee.

Public awareness

Several new programmes have recently been introduced to support and to heighten awareness of the issues faced by refugees around the world. These two new programs are a product of the benchmarks set out by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

Awards

UNHCR was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and 1981.

Persons of concern to UNHCR

As of 1 January 2007, UNHCR reported a total of 21 018 589 individuals falling under its mandate.

7 979 251 in Asia, of which

* 2 580 638 in the Middle-East

* 2 974 315 in South-East Asia

* 218 584 in Central Asia

* 1 304 189 in South Asia

* 901 525 in East Asia and the Pacific

4 740 392 in Europe, of which

* 1 617 214 in Eastern Europe

* 708 132 in South-East Europe

* 616 132 in Central Europe and in the Baltic states

* 1 798 914 in Western Europe

5 069 123 in Africa, of which

* 1 359 175 in Central Africa and the Great Lakes region

* 2 105 314 in Eastern Africa

* 1 031 030 in Western Africa

* 434 427 in the Southern African region

* 139 177 in North Africa

3 229 822 in America, of which

* 717 545 in North America and in the Caribbean

* 2 512 277 in South America

Staffing

, the UNHCR employed a staff of 6,351 people in 117 countries.

High Commissioners

The post of High Commissioner has been held by:

Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart, 1951–1956 Auguste R. Lindt, 1956–1960 Félix Schnyder, 1960–1965 Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, 1965–1978 Poul Hartling, 1978–1985 Jean-Pierre Hocké, 1986–1989 Thorvald Stoltenberg, January–November 1990 Sadako Ogata, 1990–2001 Ruud Lubbers, 2001–2005 António Guterres, 2005–present

Prior to the establishment of UNHCR, Fridtjof Nansen was the League of Nations High Commissioner of the Nansen International Office for Refugees, from 1922.

Goodwill ambassadors

UNHCR is also represented by a number of UNHCR Goodwill Ambassadors, who at present are Barbara Hendricks, Adel Imam, Angelina Jolie, Giorgio Armani, Boris Trajanov, Julien Clerc, George Dalaras, Osvaldo Laport, Khaled Hosseini, Jesús Vázquez and Muazzez Ersoy. Previous ambassadors include Richard Burton, Nazia Hassan, James Mason and Sophia Loren.

See also

United Nations

Nansen International Office for Refugees

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representation in Cyprus

Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative Fund, a scholarship program for refugees administered by UNHCR

References

Gil Loescher, Alexander Betts and James Milner. UNHCR: The Politics and Practice of Refugee Protection into the Twenty-First Century, Routledge. 2008.

Alexander Betts. Protection by Persuasion: International Cooperation in the Refugee Regime, Cornell University Press. 2009.

Gil Loescher. The UNHCR and World Politics: A Perilous Path. Oxford University Press. 2002

Fiona Terry. Condemned to Repeat? The Paradox of Humanitarian Action. Cornell University Press. 2002.

Nicholas Steiner. Problems of Protection. Routledge. 2003.

External links

UNHCR's "Refworld" refugee document and news web site: from UNHCR's Status Determination and Protection Information Section (SDPIS) in the Division of International Protection Services (DIPS).

Bottled Water Program in Support of the UNHCR

News from UNHCR official website

"Basic facts" from official website

Measuring Protection by Numbers, Report from official website

United Nations Rule of Law: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, on the rule of law work conducted by the High Commissioner for Refugees.

History of the United Nations – UK Government site

"Who is a Refugee and who is not – the Crisis of Identity as a Challenge to Protection" Online video of an address by Ms. Erika Feller, Director, Department of International Protection, UNHCR, in 2005

USCRI's Campaign to End Refugee Warehousing

USCRI's joint Statement Calling for Solutions to End the Warehousing of Refugees

"Prisons of the Stateless: The Derelictions of UNHCR" by Jacob Stevens

Nine Million

EarthWater

Category:United Nations Development Group * Category:Organizations established in 1950 Category:Nobel Peace Prize laureates Category:Swiss Nobel laureates Category:Organizations awarded Nobel Prizes Category:Nobel laureates with multiple Nobel awards

ar:المفوضية العليا للأمم المتحدة لشؤون اللاجئين az:Birləşmiş Millətlər Təşkilatının Qaçqınlar üzrə Ali Komissarlığı bn:জাতিসংঘ শরণার্থীবিষয়ক হাইকমিশনার be:Упраўленне Вярхоўнага камісара Арганізацыі Аб'яднаных Нацый па справах бежанцаў be-x-old:Упраўленьне Вярхоўнага камісара Арганізацыі Аб’яднаных Нацыяў па справах уцекачоў bg:Върховен комисариат на ООН за бежанците ca:Alt Comissionat de les Nacions Unides per als Refugiats cs:Vysoký komisař Organizace spojených národů pro uprchlíky da:FN's Flygtningehøjkommissariat de:Hoher Flüchtlingskommissar der Vereinten Nationen el:Ύπατη Αρμοστεία του ΟΗΕ για τους Πρόσφυγες es:Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Refugiados eo:Alta Komisaro pri Rifuĝintoj fa:کمیساریای عالی سازمان ملل برای پناهندگان fr:Haut Commissariat des Nations unies pour les réfugiés ga:Ardchoimisinéir na Náisiún Aontaithe um Dhídeanaithe ko:국제 연합 난민 고등 판무관 사무소 hr:UNHCR id:Komisi Tinggi Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa untuk Urusan Pengungsi is:Flóttamannastofnun Sameinuðu þjóðanna it:Alto Commissariato delle Nazioni Unite per i Rifugiati he:נציבות האו"ם לפליטים jv:Komisi Dhuwur tumrap Pengungsi Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa (UNHCR) la:Curator supremus Consociationis Nationum pro Exsulibus mk:УНХЦР my:UNHCR nl:Hoge Commissaris voor de Vluchtelingen ja:国際連合難民高等弁務官事務所 no:FNs høykommissær for flyktninger pnb:معاجراں لئی یونائیٹڈ نیشنز دفتر pl:Wysoki Komisarz Narodów Zjednoczonych do spraw Uchodźców pt:Alto Comissariado das Nações Unidas para os Refugiados ru:Управление Верховного комиссара ООН по делам беженцев sk:Úrad vysokého komisára OSN pre utečencov sr:Високи комесаријат ОУН за избеглице sh:Visoki komesarijat Ujedinjenih nacija za izbeglice fi:UNHCR sv:FN:s flyktingkommissariat ta:அகதிகளுக்கான ஐக்கிய நாடுகளின் ஆணையம் th:ข้าหลวงใหญ่ผู้ลี้ภัยแห่งสหประชาชาติ tr:Birleşmiş Milletler Mülteciler Yüksek Komiserliği uk:УВКБ ur:اقوام متحدہ کے اعلیٰ کمشنر برائے مہاجرین vi:Cao ủy Liên Hiệp Quốc về người tị nạn yo:United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees zh:联合国难民署