Dag Hammarskjöld Library at Uppsala University
UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- © United Nations
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR gives protection and support to refugees globally at the request of governments or the United Nat ons. It was established in 1950. The UNHCR is mandated by it Statute and guided by the definitions of the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol, but its mandate has gradually been expanded to include protecting and providing humanitarian assistance to other persons of concern, including internally displaced persons. The UNHCR seeks lasting solutions by assisting refugees to return to their own country and integrate locally, or resettle in another country.
The UNHCR is headquartered in Geneva with regional offices in over 120 countries. More than 80 percent of the agency's staff work in the field.
Documentation
The UNHCR official web site provides background information, news, full text documents, reports and statistics.
The 1951 Geneva Convention with the 1967 Protocol is issued in several versions:
Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.
Final Act of the United Nations Plenipotentiaries on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons and text of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees : Resolution 2198 (XXI) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and text of the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees.
The convention and its protocol are also posted online at the UNHCR official web site. There you can access information about signatures, ratifications, reservations and preparatory work, the so called Travaux préparatoires, under the section The 1951 Refugee Convention.
The UNHCR publishes an annual survey of its activities: UNHCR Global Report. The latest report can be accessed online at the UNHCR official web site.
The State of the World's Refugees provides an overview of key contemporary developments related to the displacement of people throughout the world. It provides statistical tables, graphs and maps. A selection of reports are posted online at the UNHCR official web site.
Refugees Magazine is a quarterly journal providing debate articles. It is posted at the UNHCR official web site, and can be located via Enter Search.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees submits an annual report to the General Assembly in the documentary series: Official Records of the General Assembly. No. 12. A complete collection in print is included in the UN collection of the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and the Libraries at UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva.
A summary of the work of the United Nations Environment Programme for a given year with references to essential documents can be accessed through the Yearbook of the United Nations, Part Three, Economic and Social Questions, Refugees and displaced persons. A complete collection of yearbooks and a CD-rom is held by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and the Libraries at UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva. Since October 2008 the complete full text collection of The United Nations Yearbooks is available online at http://unyearbook.un.org/.
UNHCR provides data, trends and statistical reports. Many reports are posted as full text documents at the UNHCR official web site, section Statistics.
Databases and Indexes
The UNHCR official web site works as a database with an excellent search engine for the full text documents and reports.
RefWorld, UNHCR's database for refugee information. Contents: Over 90.000 full text documents, International Thesaurus of Refugee Terminology, international and national law related to refugees, country information, maps, statistics and the UNHCR library catalogue with references to book, articles and conference papers. The database is available as a CD-ROM at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and the UN Libraries.
References to UNHCR documents and reports from 1979 onwards with links to full texts for recent years can be accessed through the United Nations online catalogue - UNBISnet.