United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has a mandate to provide international protection and assistance to refugees and, together with governments, find solutions to their plight. UNHCR also protects stateless persons and works to prevent and reduce statelessness. It acts as global cluster lead for protection and co-leadership in the area of camp coordination/management and emergency shelter in respect of internally displaced persons. UNHCR undertakes rule of law building activities in areas such as:

Continuous development of international law;

Promotion of ratification of and removal of reservations from relevant international and regional treaties;

Advocacy for and monitoring of the treatment and rights of persons of concern to UNHCR, including interventions with host governments;

Provision of technical, material, capacity-building and other support to national legislative, administrative and judicial structures;

Direct UNHCR protection and assistance measures, such as substitutive measures to meet basic survival needs, or the conduct of registration and status determination procedures, etc. They include preparation for resettlement as a means to address urgent (human rights based) protection needs;

Working in partnership with other UN rule of law actors to find solutions for protracted displacement and statelessness situations and to contribute to their enjoyment of rights through the Solutions Alliance thematic sub-group on the rule of law.

Doro refugee camp, Maban County, South Sudan – August 5th, 2012. Dowla Barik balancing the wooden pole over her shoulder, with which she carried her six children during the 10-day journey from their village of Gabanit in Sudan’s Blue Nile State, after numerous raids that forced them from their home. Photo: Brian Soko