• Text size Normal size text | Increase text size by 10% | Increase text size by 20% | Increase text size by 30%
  • Also available in French

UNHCR opens new global service centre in Hungary

News Stories, 29 February 2008

© UNHCR/A.Szobolits
High Commissioner Guterres and Minister Göncz cut the ribbon to open UNHCR's new centre in Budapest.

BUDAPEST, Hungary, February 29 (UNHCR) – High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres and Hungarian Foreign Minister Kinga Göncz on Friday presided over the opening of UNHCR's new Global Service Centre in the Hungarian capital.

Staff at the multi-storey building in central Budapest will oversee many administrative functions formerly handled at the UNHCR's headquarters in Geneva, including finance, personnel, payroll, recruitment, posting and supply management.

The UN refugee agency, with the support of donor nations, decided two years ago to move several administrative functions away from Geneva as part of reforms aimed at streamlining management and cutting costs. Several cities were considered around the world, but Budapest was chosen after the government offered modern, furnished premises free of charge.

"It was not only the wonderful premises, but also the qualifications of the labour force available," said Guterres, who thanked the government for its generosity. "Ninety-five percent of staff recruited in Hungary hold one or more university degrees," added the High Commissioner, after opening the building and signing an agreement on the global service centre with the Hungarian Foreign Minister.

Göncz said her government was honoured to host such an important organization and paid tribute to the strong historical and emotional ties between her country and the agency, which faced its first great test during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956.

"We are attached to the organization that provided so much care, assistance and love to Hungarians who were forced at that time to flee their country," she said.

There are currently 170 staff working in the Budapest Service Centre, including 102 recruited locally – 75 percent of them Hungarian. The new team is multilingual and highly educated.

It took eight month to prepare the building, which began operations in January when the Geneva units were moved over to Budapest. Aside from letting UNHCR use the building rent-free, the government will also pay the maintenance costs.

During his brief stay in Budapest, Guterres also met with Hungary's President Laszlo Solyom and with the Minister of Justice and Law Enforcement Tibor Draskovics, who is in charge of asylum matters.

The centre is expected to reach its full staffing level for 2008 by the end of May. New staff are being trained at the same time as the centre meets the needs of the more than 6,300 UNHCR staff in some 110 countries around the world.

By Melita H. Sunjic in Budapest, Hungary

• DONATE NOW • • GET INVOLVED • • STAY INFORMED •

 

Related stories by:

UNHCR country pages

The High Commissioner

António Guterres, who joined UNHCR on June 15, 2005, is the UN refugee agency's 10th High Commissioner.

Hungarian Crisis - 50th Anniversary

The spontaneous Hungarian uprising began on 23 October 1956. Two weeks later, the revolution was crushed by a Soviet military intervention, and by early 1957, 200,000 people had fled as refugees - 180,000 to Austria and 20,000 to Yugoslavia.

Hundreds of volunteers worked alongside international and local aid organizations to provide shelter and food, as the Austrians and the international community provided the refugees with an unprecedented level of support.

UNHCR was made 'Lead Agency' and, along with the Red Cross and ICEM, helped coordinate protection, assistance and a quite extraordinary resettlement programme.

Within two years, more than 180,000 Hungarians were resettled to 37 countries spanning five continents. The US, Canada, the UK, West Germany, Australia, Switzerland, France, Sweden and Belgium each accepted more than 5,000 refugees. Italy, the Netherlands, Israel, Brazil, Norway, Denmark, South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina all took over 1,000. The rest were spread around a further 19 countries ranging from the Dominican Republic to Turkey. Some Hungarians were integrated in Austria (8,000) and Yugoslavia (700), while 11,000 returned home voluntarily.

More in Refugees Magazine Issue N° 144: Where Are They Now? The Hungarian Refugees, 50 Years On (published October 2006) here

Hungarian Crisis - 50th Anniversary

Angelina Jolie meets boat people in Malta, Lampedusa

Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie joined UNHCR chief António Guterres on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where they met with boat people who have fled unrest in North Africa.

More than 40,000 people, including refugees and asylum-seekers, have crossed the Mediterranean on overcrowded boats and descended on the small island since the beginning of the year.

The UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador flew to Lampedusa from Malta, which has also been a destination for people fleeing North Africa by boat.

Angelina Jolie meets boat people in Malta, Lampedusa

World Refugee Day 2009 event with UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie

To mark the launch of activities in the United States for World Refugee Day, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie appeared alongside UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres at an event at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C. on 18 June 2009. The event, which was hosted by UNHCR and moderated by NBC television anchor Ann Curry, included a live feed from the Djabal refugee camp in eastern Chad, where a UNHCR staff member on the ground spoke to the assembled audience.

Each year UNHCR sponsors a World Refugee Day poster contest under the patronage of Angelina Jolie for school children in the US. The theme of this year's contest is "Real People, Real Needs" and a winner from each of three age groups - elementary, middle and high school -- was presented with an award at the event. In addition, Rose Mapendo, a refugee from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, who has started her own NGO for victims of conflict, was presented with the USA's Humanitarian of the Year award.

World Refugee Day 2009 event with UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie

South Sudan: Appeal for Doro CampPlay video

South Sudan: Appeal for Doro Camp

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres visits refugees in South Sudan and says international assistance is "absolutely crucial.”
ExCom: Guterres WarningPlay video

ExCom: Guterres Warning

High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres opens the annual meeting of UNHCR's governing committee with a warning that displacement crises are multiplying and becoming more unpredictable.
21st Century SkillsPlay video

21st Century Skills

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres speaks about the use of computer technology to empower refugees.