United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

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Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (established December 14, 1950) protects and supports refugees at the request of a government or the United Nations and assists in their return or resettlement.

Contents 1 History 2 Persons of concern to UNHCR 3 Staffing 3.1 Goodwill ambassadors 3.2 High Commissioners 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

History

It succeeded the earlier United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. UNHCR was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and 1981. 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. The united nations worked very hard. The UNHCR was helping refugees find food and shelter and new homes.

UNHCR's mandate has gradually been expanded to include protecting and providing humanitarian assistance to what it describes as other persons "of concern," including internally-displaced people (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, Iraq, Afghanistan as well as Kenya to assist and provide services to IDPs and refugees.

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

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

A staff of over 6689 individuals in 116 countries continues to help millions of refugees and internally-displaced people around the world.(UNHCR, Appel Global, 2007)

Goodwill ambassadors

UNHCR is also represented by UNHCR Goodwill Ambassadors, one of whom is actress Angelina Jolie [1]. The newest UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador is the Greek singer George Dalaras [2].

High Commissioners

The post of High Commissioner has been held by:

• António Guterres, 2005 - present (term to expire in 2009) (Portugal)
• Ruud Lubbers, 2001 - 2005 (the Netherlands)
• Sadako Ogata, 1990 - 2000 (Japan)
• Thorvald Stoltenberg, January-November 1990 (Norway)
• Jean-Pierre Hocké, 1986 - 1989 (Switzerland)
• Poul Hartling, 1978 - 1985 (Denmark)
• Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, 1965 - 1977 (Iran)
• Félix Schnyder, 1960 - 1965 (Switzerland)
• Auguste R. Lindt, 1956 - 1960 (Switzerland)
• Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart, 1951 - 1956 (the Netherlands)

Fridtjof Nansen was the League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1922.

See also

• United Nations
• Nansen International Office for Refugees

References

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

David Rieff. A Bed for the Night. Simon and Schuster. 2003.

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

Nicholas Steiner. Problems of Protection. Routledge. 2003.

Tony Waters. Bureaucratizing the Good Samaritan. Westview. 2001.

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