Home Site directory Contact us Links

Basic facts
News
Protecting refugees
Publications
Administration
Special events
How can you help

Donate online

 

  You are in: Protecting Refugees
  Today's date:

Protecting the world's vulnerable people

The protection of 20.8 million uprooted people is the core mandate of UNHCR. The agency does this in several ways. Using the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention as its major tool, it ensures the basic human rights of vulnerable persons and that refugees will not be returned involuntarily to a country where they face persecution. Longer term, the organization helps civilians repatriate to their homeland, integrate in countries of asylum or resettle in third countries. Using a world wide field network, it also seeks to provide at least a minimum of shelter, food, water and medical care in the immediate aftermath of any refugee exodus.

Legal protection

Through an extensive body of international law and treaties and by working with governments and other organizations on subjects ranging from promoting asylum systems to refugee advocacy, UNHCR promotes the legal protection of refugees and durable solutions.


Womenrefugee

Refugee Women

Refugee women and girls face particular difficulties, and UNHCR has developed special training and assistance programmes to help them meet these challenges.


Variakiga lösningar

Finding durable solutions

UNHCR seeks lasting solutions for the problems of refugees through repatriation to the home countries, integration in first countries of asylum, or resettlement to third countries.


Statelessness: Who is stateless?

A stateless person is someone who is not recognized by any country as a citizen.

Protection Starter Kit

(www.refworld.org)

This compilation of basic protection and protection-related documents has been developed on the request of, and to benefit newly recruited UNHCR staff as well as deployees and UNVs working with UNHCR.


Instruments which affect refugee and human rights policy


UNHCR position papers


Country of origin information

(legal/eligibility guidelines/ considerations on international protection/ return advisories etc) country of origin information


Children

There are around 25 million young people uprooted in the world, many of them living in appalling conditions and subject to widespread abuse.


Displacement

Displacement of people in the Nordic and Baltic countries in the 1940’s


1951 refugee convention

The 1951 Refugee Convention


Internally Displaced Persons

Meeting new needs

Questions and answers about IDPs


Global

Global operations

Giving fleeing civilians emergency food, shelter and other material assistance is often the first step toward their long term protection and rehabilitation.


Protcting refugees

Protecting Refugees

Questions & Answers


UNHCR Handbook

UNHCRs handbook

In Swedish, Estonian, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Icelandic and English.

Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees.



Search UNHCR Online
refworld banner

Refworld

Refworld is the leading source of information necessary for taking quality decisions on refugee status.

8 July 2010

Six steps toward convergence, quality and shared responsibility

UNHCR’s recommendations to Belgium for its EU Presidency, July – December 2010

15 June, 2010

2009 Global Trends Report:

UNHCR chief says 2009 "worst" year for voluntary repatriation in two decades

Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons, 15 June 2010.

11 June 2010

Important agreement on border monitoring in Lithuania signed 

UNHCR, Lithuanian Red Cross and  the State Border Guard Service in Lithuania have taken an important step towards ensuring protection-sensitive border monitoring in Lithuania.

Asylum Level and Trends 2009

Asylum Level and Trends in Industrialized Countries 2009

(pdf)

Statistical Overview of Asylum Applications Lodged in Europe and Selected Non-European Countries
23 March 2010

Guidelines on International Protection No. 8: Child Asylum Claims

The purpose of the Guidelines is to improve the quality of the asylum process for children and to ensure a consistent interpretation of the refugee definition. The Guidelines cover all child asylum-seekers, including accompanied, unaccompanied and separated children who may have individual claims to refugee status. (22 December 2009)

Observations on Greece as a country of asylum

December 2009

UNHCR's Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Individuals from Kosovo

9 November 2009
Read more about eligibility guidelines

Statistics

Asylum Levels
and Trends in Industrialized Countries, and statistical information from the Baltic and Nordic countries.

Legal training of lawyers

A two-day-training course on asylum law and the Swedish national procedures in September 2008.

Copyright 2001 UNHCR. All Rights Reserved. Site design by Pentagram