High Commissioner’s Op-Ed – 70th Anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention
Ελληνικά The 1951 Refugee Convention, the bedrock of international protection for people forced to flee their homes, has saved countless lives. Today, on its 70th anniversary, its critics claim it is the outdated product of another era. But if it is not defended and...
The 1951 Refugee Convention: 70 years of life-saving protection
Ελληνικά Today marks the 70th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, a key international treaty establishing the rights of people forced to flee. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, says that recommitting to its spirit and fundamental principles is more urgent today...
UNHCR urges states to protect refugees’ rights, not to instrumentalize their plight
Ελληνικά UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is increasingly concerned by the instrumentalization of refugees and migrants by states apparently to achieve political ends. People are not, and should never be, pawns in geopolitical games. When states encourage population...
UNHCR calls on states to remove barriers to access to COVID-19 vaccines for refugees
Ελληνικά Four months since the first delivery of COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility, the global initiative to ensure the vaccines’ equitable distribution, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, calls on States to expedite the roll-out of vaccination campaigns and remove...
UNHCR warns of imminent humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UN agencies welcome relocation of 4,000 asylum seekers and refugees from Greece
IOM, UNHCR and UNICEF jointly encourage further steps towards a predictable, systematic European relocation mechanism.






