16 Facts About UNHCR

UNHCR was created in 1950 to address the refugee crisis that resulted from World War II.

Commensurate with the 1967 Protocol to the Refugee Convention, which expanded the geographic and temporal scope of refugee assistance, UNHCR operated across the world, with the bulk of its activities in developing countries.

The vast majority of UNHCR's budget comes from voluntary contributions, mostly from member states; the largest donors are the United States, the European Union, and Germany.

In recognition of its work, UNHCR has won two Nobel Peace Prizes, in 1954 and 1981 and a Prince of Asturias Awards for International Cooperation in 1991.

UNHCR's mandate was originally set out in its statute, annexed to resolution 428 of the United Nations General Assembly of 1950.

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In 1956, UNHCR was involved in coordinating the response to the uprising in Hungary.

Just a year later, UNHCR was tasked with dealing with Chinese refugees in Hong Kong, while responding to Algerian refugees who had fled to Morocco and Tunisia in the wake of Algeria's war for independence.

UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 and succeeded the earlier United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.

UNHCR's mandate has gradually been expanded to include protecting and providing humanitarian assistance to whom it describes as other persons "of concern, " including internally displaced persons who would fit the legal definition of a refugee under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and 1967 Protocol, the 1969 Organization for African Unity Convention, or some other treaty if they left their country, but who presently remain in their country of origin.

UNHCR maintains a database of refugee information, ProGres, which was created during the Kosovo War in the 1990s.

Since 2009, the UNHCR acknowledged a large presence of migration and refugees in the Caribbean, where the refugee crisis remained largely unreported.

On 28 September 2016, the UNHCR partnered with the UN Food and Agricultural Organization in Tehran for the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees.

FAO and UNHCR are committed to increasing refugees' access to livelihood opportunities and reducing dependency on humanitarian aid.

UNHCR itself was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and 1981.

UNHCR is represented by a number of UNHCR Goodwill Ambassadors, who at present are:.

Also, controversies arose on the methods with which the UNHCR staff was conducting surveys in the camps to establish if refugees were willing to move back to Burma or not.