The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

In addition to causing death and violence, armed conflict also forces many people to flee their home countries in order to survive. Some people find refuge in neighbouring countries, while others move to countries far away. 

By the end of 2018, more than 70 million people had to leave their homes due to war. Almost 30 million of these people are refugees and 3.5 million are stateless.

About 40% of displaced people settle in refugee camps, where they do not have access to education, health care and employment. In many of these camps, thousands of children, most of whom are orphans, can no longer go to school.

World War II resulted in a large wave of forced migration, which led the United Nations (UN) to take action to protect refugees and find them new homes. To achieve this, it created the International Refugee Organization (IRO), which was later replaced in 1951 by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which still exists today. Other waves of forced migration have occurred since the mid-1950s either due to war or natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods. This is why the UNHCR is still so active today.

The UNHCR is located in Geneva, Switzerland, and its main mandates include:

• Protecting people forced to flee their countries due to war

• Providing refugees with shelter, food, health care and more

• Helping refugees return to their country, if possible, or helping them find a new home in another country

In general, the UNHCR ensures that the rights of refugees, as defined in the Geneva Convention, are respected. These rights are:

• The right to safety (right to asylum)

• Fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of movement and protection against torture and inhumane treatment

• Economic and social rights such as access to health care, education and jobs

The UNHCR is also responsible for aiding both refugees and internally displaced people, such as:

• Stateless persons (people whose nationality has not been recognized by the host country or cannot be proven)

• Asylum seekers (people who have fled their country and are seeking protection in the country where they are taking refuge)

• Internally displaced people (people who have moved elsewhere within their own country to escape conflict)

• Returnees (people who were in a foreign country and had to return to their own country for security reasons)

To achieve all of its mandates and help as many people as possible, the UNHCR works with several partners, including:

• Non-governmental organizations (NGO) such as UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) or WFP (the United Nations World Food Programme)

• Private sector companies, such as entrepreneur Jim Estill, president of Danby Appliances located in Ontario, who has been sponsoring refugees in collaboration with over 800 community volunteers since 2015. He provides newcomers with language training and assistance in acquiring skills needed to enter the job market. 

• Government institutions

Since 1976, Canada has played a very important role in hosting refugees and finding them new homes. The UNHCR agencies, based in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, have four specific but interrelated mandates:

• Protection: ensure that refugees are properly identified to welcome them

• Rehoming: help refugees rebuild good lives in Canada

• Awareness: ensure that Canadians are properly informed and educated about the issues experienced by refugees

• Fundraising: ensure that the necessary funding is received from the Canadian government and private sources to adequately accommodate refugees

In 2018, Canada was the country with the highest number of refugees, with 30 000 (twice as many as in 2009). Most of these refugees came from Syria, where a civil war that started in 2011 has forced nearly 7 million people to flee their homes.