Help the Uprooted and Stateless
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.
In more than five decades, the agency has helped people restart their lives. Today, a staff of around 6,650 people in more than 110 countries continues to help 34.4 million people.
In the UK, UNHCR provides guidance on refugee and asylum law and policy to the UK government, legal practitioners, non-governmental organisations and many others. Where appropriate UNHCR takes up cases and raises issues of concern with our counterparts in the UK government.
We intervene in court proceedings, which are precedent-setting for the international protection of refugees. We also provide training on a range of issues to those working with asylum-seekers and refugees.
The Quality Initiative project ran from 2004 to 2009 and aimed to positively influence the quality of first instance decision-making and related asylum procedures in the UK Border Agency.
Recognising the UKBA's significant progress in developing the area of Quality Assurance in asylum, the project has now moved into a phase of supporting the UKBA's continued development and integration of quality assurance mechanisms into the various areas of the Agency's work that go towards addressing international protection concerns.
Maintaining a high public profile is essential for an organisation like UNHCR, which relies on the generosity of others for funding our work to protect refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, stateless people and returnees. It is a cornerstone of UNHCR's overall approach to combine activities around broad themes of public engagement, media outreach, fundraising and educational support.
