MOPAN most recently released its assessment of UNHCR in 2024.
UNHCR was established in 1951 by UN General Assembly Resolution 319 (IV), to help millions of Europeans who had fled or lost their homes during and in the aftermath of World War II. Since its establishment, UNHCR has expanded from a small, mainly non-operational legal protection agency with a small office in Geneva to a global organisation, operating in 135 countries with 20 739 staff. UNHCR responds to a broad range of crises around the world, including large-scale acute emergencies and an increasing number of protracted refugee situations.
UNHCR’s mandate covers all those displaced across borders due to conflict, generalised violence and other situations where the state is unable or unwilling to provide effective protection to its citizens. UNHCR is formally responsible within the UN system for co-ordinating protection and support to refugees in all refugee situations across the world. In addition to this, under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, UNHCR leads the global humanitarian cluster on protection and co-leads the Shelter Cluster and the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) cluster in non-refugee situations caused by conflict. In situations of disaster-induced displacement, UNHCR leads the cluster on protection if it already has a presence in the affected country.
UNHCR’s activities go beyond international legal protection to include all aspects of refugees’ well-being, making UNHCR a leading humanitarian agency providing assistance to refugees around the globe. Its standard activities in refugee situations include registration, status determination, issuance of legal documents, provision of relief, emergency preparedness and elements of broader development work. UNHCR is also responsible for seeking permanent solutions for refugees, which it defines as voluntary repatriation to a refugee’s country of origin, resettlement in a third country and local integration into the initial host country.
