UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency’s cover photo
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

International Affairs

About us

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organisation dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. We lead international action to protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. We deliver life-saving assistance, help safeguard fundamental human rights, and develop solutions that ensure people have a safe place called home where they can build a better future. We also work to ensure that stateless people are granted a nationality. We work in over 130 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for millions. UNHCR’s greatest asset is our workforce. We work with passionate, talented and creative individuals who want to use their skills for good. Thanks to people like you, we can develop solutions that enable people who have been forced to flee to restart their lives and build better futures. Current Opportunities http://www.unhcr.org/careers.html Meet UNHCR Staff https://bit.ly/2EMZrlO ⚠️ Important notice: Our protection work extends to online spaces, which means we may hide/delete comments with hate/spam/profanity/misinfo/disinfo.

Website
https://unh.cr/6724adac9
Industry
International Affairs
Company size
10,001+ employees
Headquarters
Geneva
Type
Nonprofit
Specialties
Refugee Protection, Humanitarians Assistance, Emergency Response, and Human Rights

Locations

Employees at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

Updates

  • The 1951 Refugee Convention turned 74 this week, a milestone in global refugee protection. What began as a response to WWII displacement became a worldwide framework with the 1967 Protocol, saving millions of lives. It continues to guide UNHCR’s work today. #HumanitariansAtWork

    View profile for Vittoria Volgare Detaille

    Private Partnerships & Philanthropy (UNHCR)

    🎂 Yesterday, the Refugee Convention, the base of our work at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, turned 74 years old. Thanks to this document, millions of lives have been saved. The 1951 Convention was crafted to protect Europeans displaced by World War II. People like survivors of the Holocaust or Eastern Europeans fleeing Soviet repression. The Convention defined a refugee as someone who had fled persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group but only if their situation had arisen before 1951, and within Europe. As the world was not done with conflicts, in 1967, a new protocol was added, acknowledging that new refugee situations had arisen. This is when the Convention became global, for refugees in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and beyond. 📷: During the Hungarian Uprising, more than 200,000 people fled to other countries. UNHCR faced its first major post-war displacement emergency, helping thousands of people who arrived exhausted, hungry, and in need of shelter. This is when UNHCR went from an organization created to manage the aftermath of the Second World War, to one responding to new, large emergencies. #HumanitariansAtWork

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  • What does it mean to truly belong? Australia for UNHCR partnered with acclaimed artist Atong Atem to bring her powerful portrait Three Women to the heart of Sydney for #WorldRefugeeDay in June. The idea behind this collaboration is to reflect on who gets to be seen, who gets to belong and what it truly means to welcome someone. The women in the portrait reflect a shared history with Atem’s own story and her family becoming refugees when she was a child. 📷 Artwork Courtesy of Atong Atem & Mars Gallery

  • Being in the field is one of the most meaningful parts of being a humanitarian. It's an opportunity to connect and to listen. Meet Isadora, who works in external engagement with UNHCR in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. By sharing a glimpse into her day, Isadora joins a growing number of colleagues across the #HumanitariansAtWork community who are opening up about what it really means to do this work.

  • What’s the first step to rebuilding a life after displacement? For many, it’s reclaiming what’s theirs, through access to property documents and legal records. That’s why UNHCR supports the rehabilitation and digitization of the land registry offices across Syria, helping returnees and displaced families secure their housing, land and property rights. Our colleague Celine takes us behind the scenes and shows us what it takes to make it happen. #HumanitariansAtWork

    View profile for Celine SCHMITT
    Celine SCHMITT Celine SCHMITT is an Influencer

    Humanitarian, Head of External Engagement, Communications & Spokesperson @UNHCR in Syria | @Refugees Innovation Fellow | @LinkedIn Top Voice

    Today in Lattakia, alongside the Governor, we inaugurated the Cadastral Office, rehabilitated by UNHCR. Why is UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency rehabilitating Cadastral Offices in Syria 🇸🇾? 🪪 Access to legal documentation, including civil documentation and property documents, is one of the most pressing needs mentioned to us by refugee returnees. The effective functioning of Cadastral Offices is essential to respond to this very specific need. The rehabilitation project restored and enhanced services in a building that was damaged during the 2023 earthquake. 💻 The digitization of property records was a key component of the project, securing electronic backups to prevent future loss or misuse. Today, the center delivers an average of 21,000 services per month to the residents of Lattakia, including refugees who have returned and displaced persons. 🏡 These services include authenticating real estate transactions and issuing documents related to housing, land, and property (HLP) rights, such as real estate records, spatial data, and demarcation documents. 📚 The center also plays a vital role in preserving all paper-based real estate records for the entire governorate. This is why UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency staff includes not only lawyers ⚖️ and humanitarian workers ⛑️ but also engineers 👷♀️ and architects 👷. 🙏 Their joint work, drawing on each other’s expertise, helps address the diverse needs of refugees, returnees, and displaced persons. 📈 Since 8 December 2024, more than 25,000 Syrian refugees have returned to the Coastal areas. Throughout Syria, UNHCR has supported over the years the rehabilitation of civil registry and cadastral offices to strengthen access to civil documentation and housing, land, and property (HLP) rights for displaced and returning families. 📸 Before and after the rehabilitation

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  • This 11-year-old Afghan girl dreams of becoming a doctor. But like many Afghan girls, she will be barred from attending school after grade six. With access to education facing severe restrictions, UNHCR has worked to establish safe spaces, offer counselling and deliver community-based protection programmes for women and girls. Deep funding cuts now threaten these vital services for women and girls, and more essential support for people in need. We can’t turn our back on the people of Afghanistan.

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  • Mhasin’s story is not unique, but it could have a different ending. From her visit to Uganda, Dominique Isabelle Hyde reflects on what’s possible when refugees are given the right to work and the support to do so. We must invest in dignity, not just survival.

    View profile for Dominique Isabelle Hyde

    Director of External Relations | Communication, Strategic Partnerships & External Relations

    When war reached Nyala, Sudan, Mhasin was forced to flee with her family. They arrived in Uganda with nothing. She was a mother of five with a Master’s degree in finance and a career she loved. Now she’s barely surviving. She told me her soul is slowly fading. This could happen to any of us. War doesn’t choose its victims. One day you’re building a life; the next, you’re running for it, hoping you’ve made the right decision and that you find safety. No amount of resilience can replace what’s been lost. The only real solution is peace. But while peace remains out of reach, dignity must not. If Mhasin and her husband were given the chance to work again, to use their skills, provide for their children and contribute to the community, they could begin to hope and rebuild. In Uganda, this is legally possible. All that’s needed is support. Hope doesn’t vanish on its own. Sometimes, it just needs a reason to return. Mamadou Dian Balde Omer Elnaiem Elhadj As Sy Kelly T. Clements Raouf Mazou Needa Jehu-Mazou Shirin Pakfar - Friborg Jorge Olague Dailo Alli Alonso Carol Sparks Dana Hughes Nancy A.

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  • Two best friends. One unbreakable bond. 💙 Ghazal and Salam found each other in Jordan’s Za’atari Refugee Camp, creating memories that shine even in the toughest times. For those who have crossed borders in search of safety, friendships can be a lifeline. It’s the neighbour who offered a warm meal. It’s the volunteer who listened without judgment. It’s the stranger who said you’re not alone. It’s the friend who spoke your name with kindness. In friendship, we find hope and healing. Happy #WorldFriendshipDay!

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