Our primary purpose at UNHCR is to safeguard the rights and well-being of people who have been forced to flee. Together with partners and communities, we work to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another country. We also strive to secure lasting solutions.

For over half a century, UNHCR has helped millions of people to restart their lives. They include refugees, returnees, stateless people, the internally displaced and asylum-seekers. Our protection, shelter, health and education has been crucial, healing broken pasts and building brighter futures.

Asylum-seekers

An asylum-seeker is an individual who is seeking international protection.

Internally Displaced People

The internally displaced seek safety in other parts of their country.

Refugees

Refugees are people fleeing conflict or persecution.

Stateless People

Stateless people do not have a nationality and can struggle to realize their human rights.

Returnees

Returnees are people who have finally returned home.

History of UNHCR

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was created in 1950, during the aftermath of the Second World War, to help millions of Europeans who had fled or lost their homes. We had three years to complete our work and then disband.

Today, over 70 years later, our organization is still hard at work, protecting and assisting refugees around the world.

In 1954, UNHCR won the Nobel Peace Prize for its groundbreaking work in Europe. But it was not long before we faced our next major emergency.

In 1956, during the Hungarian Revolution, 200,000 fled to neighbouring Austria. Recognizing the Hungarians as ‘prima facie‘ refugees, UNHCR led efforts to resettle them. This uprising and its aftermath shaped the way humanitarian organizations would deal with refugee crises in the future.

During the 1960s, the decolonization of Africa produced the first of that continent’s numerous refugee crises. We also helped uprooted people in Asia and Latin America over the following two decades. In 1981, we received a second Nobel Peace Prize for what had become worldwide assistance to refugees.

The start of the 21st century has seen UNHCR help with major refugee crises in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. We have also been asked to use our expertise to help many internally displaced by conflict and expanded our role in helping stateless people. In some parts of the world, such as Africa and Latin America, the 1951 Refugee Convention has been strengthened by additional regional legal instruments.

UNHCR now has more than 18,879 personnel working in 137 countries. Our budget, which in its first year was US$300,000, grew to US$8.6 billion in 2019.

In 2020, we marked our 70th anniversary. During our lifetime, we have helped well over 50 million refugees to successfully restart their lives.

Want more UNHCR history? Subscribe and listen to Forced to Flee, a groundbreaking new podcast that sheds light on 70 years of stories from those forced to flee their homes. This is not history from a textbook. These are personal stories of persecution, survival and new beginnings.