There are more than 100 million refugees and forcibly displaced persons worldwide affecting almost every continent and country. The causes of the refugee crisis are complex including external and internal conflicts, human rights violations, searing poverty and famine, racial hatred and ethnic violence.

Instruments for protection and humanitarian assistance

The United Nations system for the protection and humanitarian assistance to refugees rests on two pillars:

1. The Geneva Convention from 1951, Convention relating to the Status of Refugees with its additional Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees from 1967.
2. The Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide with the primary concern to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. In the course of time, however, the UNHCR has been called upon, to concern itself with longterm solutions, such as voluntary repatriation and reintegration. UNHCR works in close cooperation with a number of actors including UN programmes and agencies, international and regional organizations, NGOs and governments and local authorities.

World Refugee Day

As proclaimed by the General Assembly, World Refugee Day is observed annually on 20 June.

The UN General Assembly, on 4 December 2000, adopted resolution 55/76 where it noted that 2001 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and that the Organization of African Unity (OAU) had agreed to have International Refugee Day coincide with Africa Refugee Day on 20 June.

UN programmes, funds, agencies and committees involved in refugee and disaster relief

More on UN and refugees

• UNHCR. The convention and its protocol as well as information about signatures, ratifications, reservations and preparatory work/'travaux préparatoires'. The website provides background information, news, statistics, country surveys and reports.

The United Nations has adopted several instruments for the protection of refugees:

• Statute of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, adopted by General Assembly resolution, A/RES/428 (V), of 14 December 1950.
• Convention relating to the Status of Refugees adopted by the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiarities on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons under General Assembly resolution, A/RES/429 (V), of 14 December 1950. Entered into force: 22 April 1954, in accordance with article 43.
• Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, 1966, entered into force 4 October 1967.
• Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, 1998.
• Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants
• RefWorld UNHCR's database for refugee information. Contents:
  • Country information, such as country reports and profiles, news and maps.
  • International and national law related to refugees
  • Statistics
  • References to book, articles and conference papers.

• Refugees and asylum seekers. A research guide by the UN library in Geneva.