United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Office of the (UNHCR), established Jan., 1951, by the General Assembly. It superseded the International Refugee Organization. It seeks permanent solutions to refugee problems, offers international protection to refugees, coordinates the activities of voluntary agencies, and assists the most needy refugee groups. It was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and 1981. In the late 1950s the office of UNHCR aided refugees from Hungary, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, and Chinese refugees in Hong Kong. Since the 1960s most of its economic assistance has gone to refugees created by tribal and political conflicts and civil wars. In the 1980s and 90s such conflicts have taken it to the Horn of Africa, Central America, Pakistan, Southeast Asia, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and the former Yugoslavia.

Bibliography

See L. Holborn, Refugees, a Problem for Our Time: The Work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 1950–1970 (1974).

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United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Office of the (UNHCR)

Office established in 1951 to give legal, social, economic, and political aid to refugees. The UNHCR is the successor of the International Refugee Organization. Its first efforts focused on Europeans displaced by World War II; it has since assisted refugees in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Yugoslavia. It is based in Geneva and is financed by voluntary government contributions. The office won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1954 and 1981.