UNHCR launches the 2025 Refugee Speakers Programme: “A chance to show I am a person behind the numbers”
UNHCR launches the 2025 Refugee Speakers Programme: “A chance to show I am a person behind the numbers”
UNHCR helps to save lives and build better futures for the millions of people forced to flee their homes.
UNHCR has been present the Nordic and Baltic region since 1985. Our regional offices support the implementation of fair and efficient asylum systems, address statelessness, and promote refugee integration, access to legal assistance, and public engagement.
We work to uphold the rights of displaced people and raise awareness about global displacement.
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Small country, big hearts!
— UNHCR Nordic and Baltic Countries (@UNHCR_NE) November 4, 2025
On High Commissioner @FilippoGrandi’s first day in Iceland, the country’s support and engagement was apparent! Meetings were held with the President, with refugees, who shared their experience, and with @thorgkatrin & @MFAIceland. pic.twitter.com/zfchiE67hI
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Despite facing many obstacles, Anna continues to fight, hoping to provide her young daughters with the childhood she never had.
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Anna and her family are stateless in Sweden: “My daughters deserve a future”
An estimated 4.4 million people around the world are stateless. Being stateless means you have no nationality and are not recognized as a citizen by any country, and therefore face difficulties accessing basic rights and services. Among them are 29‑year‑old Anna and her twin daughters in Sweden.
Before arriving in Sweden, Anna believed that statelessness wouldn’t be an issue. She hoped the country would offer a better life for her and her family. However, because Sweden has not found her eligible for citizenship, she and her children remain stateless.
“The idea that a piece of paper can determine my children’s future is utterly absurd. I don’t want my daughters to feel inferior, and it breaks my heart that I can’t be honest with them about our situation — that they don’t have a future right now.”
Anna hopes that sharing her story will remove some of the misconceptions about statelessness.
“We are born as human beings and deserve citizenship. With proper documentation, we could achieve so much more."
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Winter emergency appeal
Families are returning to Syria to find their homes reduced to rubble, while others in Jordan and Lebanon live in poor housing with no heating. People in Ukraine have seen their lives and dreams ripped apart, and they need protection, safety, and shelter. While in Afghanistan, millions of people have returned from Iran and Pakistan - many not by choice - to a country that has been ravaged by decades of conflict, economic collapse, and deadly earthquakes.
Supplies are running low, while temperatures drop even lower. With your support, we can provide the aid that families need the most.
Donate today.
can provide blankets, solar lamp, cooking utensils and jerry cans, to a family in Syria
can provide an insulation kit to keep people warm in their homes in Ukraine
can provide a traditional heater for families in Afghanistan
