United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to provide international protection and humanitarian assistance to refugees, internally displaced persons and stateless individuals. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the organisation works in 136 countries and employed more than 20,000 staff members as of December 2023. Its mission is to safeguard the rights and well-being of displaced people, to ensure access to asylum, and to promote durable solutions such as voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to third countries.
UNHCR operates on the principle that protection must be non-political and humanitarian in character. Over seven decades, it has evolved into one of the largest and most influential UN agencies, recognised for significant contributions to international refugee protection.

Historical background

The origins of international refugee protection predate the United Nations. In 1921, the League of Nations created the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, headed by Norwegian explorer and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen. This early structure introduced key concepts such as refugee documentation and legal protection. Following the devastation of the Second World War, the United Nations established the International Refugee Organization (IRO) in 1946 to handle the mass displacement across Europe.
As the IRO’s mandate drew to a close, UN member states recognised the need for a permanent body to address long-term refugee concerns. Despite objections from some governments wary of establishing an enduring institution, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was created by General Assembly Resolution 319 (IV) of December 1949 and became operational on 1 January 1951. Its statute was formally annexed to Resolution 428 (V) in 1950, defining its core mandate.
The adoption of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees provided the legal framework for the agency’s work, initially focusing on European displacement following the war. However, conflicts and crises in the late 1950s—including the Hungarian Revolution and decolonisation in Africa and Asia—rapidly globalised the organisation’s role. By the 1960s UNHCR had shifted its operations largely to the developing world, responding to refugee flows for which the original Convention’s geographic and temporal restrictions proved insufficient.
In 1967 the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees removed these limitations, allowing UNHCR to address new and diverse refugee situations. Subsequent decades brought further challenges: mass displacement in South Asia after the Bangladesh crisis; conflicts in Indochina; interethnic violence in newly independent states; and humanitarian emergencies in Central America, Africa and the Balkans. The 1994 genocide in Rwanda and wars in the former Yugoslavia further illustrated the scale and complexity of modern displacement.
By 2015 UNHCR had supported more than 50 million refugees since its creation. Its budget expanded from USD 300,000 in 1951 to more than USD 8.6 billion in 2019, funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from governments, regional organisations and private donors. The United States, the European Union and Germany consistently rank among its largest supporters. UNHCR has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize twice, in 1954 and 1981, and received the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation in 1991.

Mandate and functions

UNHCR’s principal purpose is to protect refugees and ensure that they can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safety in another state. The agency strives to secure three long-term solutions:

• Voluntary repatriation when conditions in the country of origin allow safe and dignified return
• Local integration in the country of asylum
• Resettlement to a third country when neither return nor local integration is feasible

Over time, the mandate has been expanded to include several other categories of displaced persons. This includes internally displaced persons (IDPs) who remain within their country of origin but would otherwise meet refugee criteria, and stateless individuals who lack recognised nationality. These broader responsibilities are grounded in decisions of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council.
UNHCR conducts major field operations in places such as Lebanon, South Sudan, Chad/Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan and Kenya. Its work includes emergency response, camp management, shelter provision, healthcare, legal assistance, protection services and community-based support. In urban settings, UNHCR assists refugees through partnerships with local authorities and humanitarian organisations.
A significant aspect of its operational role is the maintenance of ProGres, a global refugee registration system developed during the Kosovo crisis of the 1990s. It contains biometric data, including fingerprints and iris scans, on more than 11 million refugees—approximately 11% of the world’s displaced population. The use of biometric verification has improved aid delivery and reduced fraud. In Kenyan camps such as Kakuma and Dadaab, biometric systems introduced in 2013 enabled the World Food Programme to eliminate significant resource losses.

Global engagement and challenges

UNHCR’s work reflects shifts in global politics, humanitarian needs and international law. During the Cold War, displacement was often shaped by geopolitical rivalry, cross-border conflicts and ideological tensions. Refugees in later decades increasingly fled internal conflict, interethnic violence and state collapse, creating large and complex emergencies with limited prospects for immediate resolution.
The end of the Cold War brought both opportunities and challenges. Although some longstanding conflicts ended, new crises emerged rapidly. Humanitarian interventions and international media coverage began to shape public perceptions and political responses, as seen in Kosovo in 1999, while other emergencies such as the Rwandan genocide received less timely attention, complicating UNHCR’s efforts to protect affected populations.
In the 21st century, displacement has been driven by protracted conflicts, persecution, environmental pressures and socio-economic instability. According to academic analysis, UNHCR has maintained a relatively consistent allocation of resources across regions, demonstrating limited bias toward donor countries despite concerns about political influence.

Humanitarian protection and durable solutions

At the core of UNHCR’s mission is the safeguarding of refugees’ rights under international law. This includes ensuring:

• protection from refoulement (forced return to territory where life or freedom is threatened)
• access to asylum procedures
• documentation and legal assistance
• protection from discrimination and exploitation
• access to basic services such as healthcare, education and shelter

In prolonged crises, UNHCR supports self-reliance initiatives, livelihood programmes and community resilience. When feasible, it works with states to implement durable solutions through repatriation, integration or resettlement programmes. Resettlement is limited due to the small number of available places globally, but remains essential for the most vulnerable refugees.
As a member of the United Nations Development Group, UNHCR cooperates with agencies working on sustainable development, recognising that long-term peace, stability and economic security are necessary for resolving displacement.

Contemporary relevance

Today, UNHCR stands at the centre of global displacement governance, responding to emergencies and advocating for international cooperation in a world where forced displacement has reached record levels. Its expanding responsibilities, technological tools and broad partnerships reflect the evolving nature of humanitarian protection. Despite operational challenges and political constraints, the agency continues to pursue its founding commitment: to uphold the rights and dignity of every person forced to flee.