In 2021, UNHCR challenged students to address the impact of COVID-19 on refugees, refugee women’s rights, refugees’ social inclusion and the use of technology to empower refugees. The best ideas have been turned into LEGO scenes by an artist.
Refugees
has operated programmes in Ukraine since 1997 and in the Republic of Moldova since 1995. In addition to providing technical and programme advisory services to the neighbouring countries to the Ukraine that are receiving refugees, the agency is working to bring reproductive health equipment and supplies and mobile health teams providing sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence services to Ukraine. It continues to operate 10 shelters, eight crisis rooms and a support hotline for gender-based violence survivors.
An all-female group, including 13 refugees from six countries, set out to climb Mount Toubkal – Morocco’s highest peak – to highlight the struggle to end violence against women.
announces the winners of the second annual Youth with Refugees Art Contest – the online sale of footballs featuring the designs will raise funds for sport programmes for refugees.
A group of refugee women are growing rice on a large scale, becoming the largest rice producers in Angola’s Lunda Norte province. Antoinette, also known as ‘Mama Antho,’ runs an agricultural association with some 30 refugee women who work on farms in and outside the settlement. Many of them have brought their agricultural expertise to a region that is not known for farming. The women produce between 500 to 600 kilograms of rice per harvest, making them the largest rice producers in the province.
celebrates the 29 refugee athletes heading to Tokyo. They will compete in 12 Olympic sports, bringing further awareness to the plight of over 80 million displaced people worldwide.
Kristin Riis Halvorsen, ’s head of office in Tapachula, Mexico talks about how rewarding her job is, because it allows her to do something meaningful, but she also grapples with decisions about what the organization can and cannot do. "It would have been amazing to live in a world where no one was forced to leave their home," she says.
Fatima Katash is an 8th grade student at the Jalazone Basic Girls’ School. Jalazone camp is adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Beit El. Because the settlement and camp are so close, Israeli security patrols and a military presence often lead to clashes with Palestine refugees. During incidents, the UNRWA protection team directly interacts with the Israeli military to advocate for the protection of the children and to de-escalate the situation. The team also helps coordinate the evacuation of students and staff, in the event of clashes.
The impacts of our changing climate are being felt worldwide, but countries already struggling with conflict, poverty and high levels of displacement are dealing with some of the most severe effects. From Afghanistan to Central America, droughts, flooding and other extreme weather events are hitting those least equipped to recover and adapt. This Earth Day, UNHCR released a new that shows how our warming world is compounding risks for people already living with conflict and instability, driving further displacement, and often decreasing possibilities for return.
today announced the appointment of Alphonso Davies, FC Bayern Munich’s left-back and player for Canada Men’s National Football Team, as its newest Global Goodwill Ambassador.
Refugee Rosemary Kariuki has been recognized as Australia’s 2021 ‘Local Hero’ for her work helping other displaced women overcome isolation and gender violence.
Medical doctor Tefera Tewodros was among the first refugees to reach safety in East Sudan at the onset of the crisis last November in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Stunned by the sheer number of people streaming across the border, many sick or wounded, he realized he had to step up and help. He went to offer his support to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and the Sudanese Commission for Refugees (COR) at the Hamdayet transit centre. The very next day he started volunteering at the health clinic, run by the Sudanese Red Crescent Society. Since then, he has been living and working at the health clinic in the border town of Hamdayet in Kassala state, where the majority of the 60,000 refugees fleeing the conflict in Ethiopia have sought safety.
"[In Yemen] the situation is quite desperate. We have probably two thirds of the population which relies on our humanitarian assistance for their daily survival. We have half of the health facilities that have been destroyed by five years of the conflict.
Find helpful , on asylum procedures, or read more about your rights and duties.
Despite an estimated 1.44 million refugees in urgent need of resettlement globally, only 22,770 were resettled through , the UN Refugee Agency, last year. These are the lowest refugee resettlement numbers the agency has witnessed in almost two decades. The drop stems from low quotas put forward by states, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed departures and programmes. With 85 per cent of the 20.4 million refugees under UNHCR’s mandate hosted in developing regions, resettlement is a tangible way in which states can better protect refugees, demonstrate solidarity and support host countries.