United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR; UNHCR: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) is the United Nations body in charge of protecting refugees and those displaced by persecution or conflict, and promoting lasting solutions to their situation, through voluntary resettlement in their country of origin or in the host country. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has more than 250 offices throughout the world. The right to asylum and refuge is contemplated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Creation

Acnur Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Statute of the UNHCR Office was adopted in resolution 428 of the United Nations General Assembly on December 14, 1950. It began its functions on January 1, 1951, its first decree being to help resettle to more than a million European refugees who were still homeless as a result of the Second World War.

Acnur's direct historical background was:

• The League of Nations appointed Fridtjof Nansen as High Commissioner for Refugees in 1922.
• United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation AdministrationUnited Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) between 1943 and 1949, created to help the refugees of the Second World War (here the term United Nations refers to countries known as "allies", not the UN.
• The International Refugee Organization (IHO) is established (International Refugee Organization) as a specialized agency of the United Nations, operating from 1946 to 1952.

The 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees defined the legal concept of refugee and established the treatment they should receive. The 1967 Protocol unified several additional resolutions to broaden the framework of action of UNHCR and of the countries adhering to the convention.

Functions

The mission of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is to ensure that "everyone has the right to seek asylum and find safe haven in another State, with the option of eventually returning to their home, integrate or resettle". This right allows the satisfaction of basic needs, such as access to decent housing, adequate food, drinking water, among other rights inherent to the person that should be guaranteed in the States of origin, but they are limited by various problems or conflicts such as war, violence, persecution, as well as irreconcilable family problems. UNHCR is constantly working to build better futures and life opportunities for millions of people who are forced to leave their homes.

In 1951, the Convention on the Status of Refugees was adopted, which establishes various obligations of the contracting States with respect to the rights of refugees and recognizes the UNHCR as the body in charge of ensuring the application of international conventions that ensure the protection of refugees". In this sense, the contracting States undertake to cooperate with the UNHCR and submit reports and statistical data on the status of refugees, the implementation of the Convention and the domestic law in force, concerning refugees.

One of the vitally important functions of UNHCR is that of protection, which mainly consists of guaranteeing the equal access of refugees to the various rights they enjoy in accordance with the various international instruments intertwined with the competence of UNHCR. Another function is emergency accommodation in cases of humanitarian emergencies where survival must be guaranteed during crises or displacement. UNHCR provides tents, plastic sheets, among other material resources that can make the difference between life and death for those on the move. On the other hand, while emergency shelter is a short-term solution, there is another function called "durable solutions" which consists mainly of providing legal assistance and education so that refugees, upon returning to their country of origin, can incorporate and integrate into community life with dignity and a feeling of peace. In cases of emergency, UNHCR seeks to respond in a manner fleeting and immediate at the time of the event, within 72 hours "thanks to a global network of providers, specialized agencies and partners". UNHCR has highly trained staff to deal with these crises, to provide the necessary and relevant help to refugees seeking the certainty that their rights will be guaranteed.

Regarding the hygiene and nutrition of refugees, UNHCR ensures the right to health, which basically consists of access to essential health services, access to drinking water, adequate nutrition for refugee groups, as well as such as the prevention and protection of chronic and incurable diseases. Finally, the function of protecting people consists in the identification of vulnerable groups of refugees, focusing on combating discrimination and persecution suffered by women, young people, LGBTI people, minority groups, among others who require of special protection so that their human rights are not violated in refugee status.

Current range

Acnur Help Packages in Daadab, Kenya, December 2006.

With the expansion of UNHCR's activities worldwide, and to internally displaced as well as internationally displaced persons, the number of people of concern to UNHCR has increased considerably since its inception, while accentuated the complexity of the problem of forced displacement. In total, up to the beginning of the 21st century, it has provided assistance to more than 111 million refugees and displaced persons.

At the end of 2019, there were 79.5 million displaced people worldwide. The nationalities of origin of most of the refugees or displaced persons are Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar.

He has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize twice, in 1954 and 1981, as well as the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation in 1991.

Annually awards the Nansen Refugee Award, (formerly known as the Nansen Medal), to individuals or groups who have excelled in the refugee cause.

UNHCR in Latin America

The actions of the UNHCR in Latin America are mainly related to displacements derived from organized crime and armed groups, as well as situations of statelessness.

Team

More than 9,000 people work for UNHCR across 126 countries, 88% of them on the ground.

Since the early 1980s, Acnue began collaborating with goodwill ambassadors, that is, people of national or international renown who use their fame or access to the media to seek support for the refugee cause. Current UNHCR Goodwill Ambassadors and year of appointment:

• 1987: Barbara Hendricks (1948-), American-Southern opera singer.
• 2000: Adel Imam (1940-), Egyptian actor.
• 2001: Angelina Jolie (1975-), American actress.
• 2002: Giorgio Armani (1934-), Italian modisto.
• 2003: Julién Clerc (1947-), French singer and writer.
• 2006: Osvaldo Laport (1956-), Uruguayan actor.
• 2006: Georges Dalaras (1949-), Greek musician.
• 2007: Muazzez Ersoy (1958-), Turkish singer.
• 2008: Jesús Vázquez (1965-), Spanish television presenter.
• Archive:Exile and encounter Videodance on Human Mobility.mpg

  Video in the project 'Exilio y reunión: videodanza sobre mobility human', collaborative activity co-organized by UNHCR and LABNL Lab Cultural Ciudadano.
  2013: Yaoi Chen (1979-), Chinese actress and blogger.
• 2013: Jáled Joseini (1965-), Afghan-American writer and doctor.
• 2016: Cate Blanchett (1969-), Australian actress.
• 2020: Alfonso Herrera (1983-), Mexican actor.

Filippo Grandi is an Italian diplomat who is primarily involved in United Nations humanitarian operations. From 2010 to 2014, he served as Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

High Commissioners

Awards

In 2019 he received the Jaime Brunet International Award, granted by the Jaime Brunet Foundation of the Public University of Navarra.