Mitzi Caryl Encarnacion

INTLORG April 10, 2018

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

The world is now experiencing the highest levels of displacement on record --

surpassing World War II numbers. According to the report of the International
Organization for Migration (IOM), an unprecedented 65.6 million people around the
world have been forced from home. Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over
half of whom are under the age of 18. There are also 10 million stateless people who
have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education,
healthcare, employment and freedom of movement. In a world where nearly 20 people
are forcibly displaced every minute as a result of conflict or persecution, the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) iterates that their mission is as
important as ever.

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was
created in the year 1950 because of the devastating aftermath of World War II that led
to millions of Europeans fleeing or without homes. In 1954, UNHCR won the Nobel
Peace Prize for its groundbreaking work in Europe but it did not take long for the
organization to get back on its feet because of another humanitarian emergency.

The ultimate and primary purpose of the UNHCR is to safeguard the rights and
well-being of the people who have been forced to flee from their homes. It works closely
with other organizations, partners and communities to ensure that everybody has the
right to seek asylum and find safety in another country. The organization prides itself for
finding not just temporary solutions but lasting ones. For over a half century, UNHCR
has helped over 50 million people to restart and repower their lives with the help of
protection, shelter, and healthcare. Education, too, has been crucial in healing broken
pasts and building brighter futures which is also a main priority in the organization. The
number does not only include refugees but returnees, stateless people, internally
displaced people and asylum-seekers.

The agency was first known to be the International Refugee Organization. The
previous organization had helped 1 million people, including the Europeans from camps
in Germany, Austria and Italy en route to a new life in the United States of America or to
resettle in other countries. When the Hungarian uprising emerged in 1956, UNHCR
faced its first post-conflict emergency, organizing and coordinating much needed help
for more than 200,000 people who fled that country. Some refugees remained in Austria
where UNHCR funded housing projects, a basic human need that was hard to attain in
a post-conflict situation. Africa’s first modern refugee crisis occurred in the late 1950s
during Algeria’s independence struggle against France and during this event, the
UNHCR’s first intervention on the African continent, provided the needed assistance for
almost 200,000 refugees who fled to the surrounding countries. As colonialism came to
a close in the 1960s, conflicts erupted in many parts of Africa like the one in the central
African state of Rwanda. Multiple and various groups of Rwandese were seen living and
waiting for the distribution of food at the refugee centre in Uganda’s Oruchinga Valley.
Independent African states welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the
chaos of independence struggles and the UNHCR was one of main actor that facilitated
and assisted the move. Also in the 1960s, one of UNHCR’s most successful operations
was the rural integration of refugees in countries of asylum, which included
Mozambicans that resettled in Tanzania. After a few years, the struggle for survival of
10 million Bengalis to India in 1971 was the most dramatic evacuation or mass
movement of the 20th century and the UNHCR was the main actor for the relief
operation that happened. In 1974, the clash between Greek and Turkish communities in
Cyprus led to leaving 400,000 people homeless. In this plight, the UNHCR coordinated
food, health and shelter. In Vietnam on the other hand, the hardship of the refugees
began after the fall of Saigon to North Vietnam forces in 1975. An estimated 3 million,
including these Vietnamese boat people arriving in Malaysia in 1978, fled due to the
various conflicts in Indochina. In the late 1970s, more refugees were seen walking the
face of the earth. Also at the same time, Thailand became the country of first asylum for
refugees from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Thailand became the home of thousands
of Cambodian children who were among the massive numbers who fled to the country
during and after the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. The continued conflict in the world was
also seen in Central America. In the 1980s, the violence in the continent forced 300,000
people to seek assistance from the UNHCR. The force displacement of more than 6
million Afghans started in 1979. People fled to such sites as the Ghazi Refugee Village
in Pakistan. More conflicts, wars and natural disasters were seen in the 1980s which
resulted in a massive influx of Ethiopians into Sudan which devastatingly caused the
death of thousands of people before there was an effective relief effort in place. As civil
wars became more rampant, nearly 1.5 million Mozambicans fled to neighbouring
countries and received assistance and education from the organization. In 1992,
UNHCR began helping Mozambicans return home in the largest repatriation of refugees
in African history. After more than 15 years in exile, an estimated 41,000 refugees from
Namibia returned back to their home country in 1989, including civilians leaving
Lubango in Angola. The Gulf War in the early 1990s was followed by the movement of
1.5 million Iraqi Kurds. Some refugees, including thousands of children, were able to
return home within weeks. By late 1991 nearly 750,000 Somalis were sheltering in
Ethiopia’s Hararghe region and the need for wood became according to a report by
UNHCR, “a serious environmental burden in one of Africa’s most inhospitable spots.”
The famous and still unsolved Rohingya refugee crisis started in early 1991 where an
estimated 250,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar began arriving in Bangladesh.
Many returned home and received from UNHCR assistance and the wellbeing of these
refugees became a top priority for the organization. After years of exile and a 13-month
repatriation operation completed in 1993, tens of thousands of Cambodians began a
new life with food, water, tools, land or a cash grant provided by UNHCR. More war and
displacement ripped through West Africa in the 1990s. More than 800,000 Liberians fled
their home in the early 1990s, followed by tens of thousands of Sierra Leoneans. The
supply of clean water was essential to prevent the spread of disease that is why it
became a priority for the UNHCR to provide just that. Furthermore, the war in the
Balkans in the 1990s displaced 3 million people and 8,000 men and boys from the
“Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica were executed.” Women and children mourned
the deaths of their menfolk and was a completely devastating event for the world to see.
As time passed by, the importance of the organization became concrete especially in
the 1994 genocide in Rwanda wherein it triggered a massive movement into the
neighbouring countries namely, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania.
Huge camps, such as the camp in the Ngara area of Tanzania, sprung up and became
the temporary homes of thousands of families and people. Its importance also grew in
the age of the crisis in Africa’s Great Lakes region where it also involved Burundi.
270,000 Rwandans sought safety in Mugano camp and was temporarily sustained by
relief operations from the UNHCR. More conflicts rose in the Asian region and left at
least 20,000 people killed, half million people displaced and 60,000 civilians fleeing to
Afghanistan when civil war erupted in the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan in 1992.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, conflict erupted in several areas of the
former empire, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee. Within days of NATO’s
air strikes against Serb positions in 1999, nearly one million civilians fled or were forced
into exile from Kosovo. Refugees began flooding back into Kosovo virtually as quickly
as they had left, but unfortunately many returned to scenes of utter destruction. The end
of the 20th century was marked by a refugee movement from East Timor. When an
international force restored order in the state, many of the displaced were able to go
home with the help of UNHCR. Afghan refugees prepared to return home in 2002 from
a staging post near the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar, a result that most refugees
would like to see coming. Sudanese refugees from the Darfur region in eastern Chad in
2004 and were forced to flee their homes to escape attacks by armed groups, these
groups were then assisted by the organization following their movement. In Kenya, the
Dadaab camps are the most crowded in the world, housing almost 300,000 though built
for just 90,000 refugees. The start of the 21st century has seen UNHCR help with major
refugee crises in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The task of the organization has
expanded to helping stateless people, internally displaced persons, among others. The
main guiding instrument and agreement guiding the works of the UNHCR, the 1951
Refugee Convention, has even been strengthened in other parts of the world like in
Africa and Latin America. From its first task in 1951 to help an estimated 1 million
mainly European civilians, including the refugees in a camp in Germany, still uprooted in
the aftermath of World War II, the organization 67 years later is still on the works in
protecting and assisting refugees around the world. The UNHCR now has more than
10,966 members of staff that work in a total of 130 countries and the budget, which in its
first year was USD $300,000, grew to USD $6.54 billion in 2016 according to a report by
the UNHCR. During the lifetime of the organization, it has helped well over 50 million
refugees to successfully renew their life and become the best versions of their selves
again.

The UNHCR is governed by the UN General Assembly and the Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC). The UNHCR Executive Committee approves the agency's
biennial programmes and the corresponding budget as well. The High Commissioner of
whom is appointed by the UN General Assembly presents these. The mandate is
governed by the 1950 Refugee Statute. The mandate of which was extended by the
General Assembly in 2003 until “the refugee problem is solved.” The High
Commissioner reports annually to ECOSOC and the General Assembly on the work of
UNHCR. The High Commissioner is also the director and is responsible for the control
of the organization. He or she directs the work with the assistance of a Deputy High
Commissioner and Assistant High Commissioners for Protection and Operations. The
Inspector General Office, on the other hand, provides the High Commissioner with
independent assurance and oversees the other activities and operations of the UNHCR.
It, moreover, must protect the integrity and improve the efficiency of the programs and
operations of the organization. It must tackle the issues on fraud and abuse through
internal audits, investigations and other oversight advisory services. The 10,966
national and international staff working in 130 countries in this worldwide operation has
now become highly complex. The responsibilities are ranging from recruitment of new
staff and ensuring their security in dangerous situations to the procurement of
everything from medical supplies to aircraft charters.

The organization is funded fully by voluntary contributions. The breakdown of the

organizations budget is as follows, 87 percent is from governments and the European
Union (EU), three percent from other inter-governmental organizations and certain
pooled funding mechanisms, and nine per cent from the private sector, including
foundations, corporations and the public. In addition to that, UNHCR receives a limited
subsidy (one percent) from the UN budget for administrative costs, and accept in-kind
contributions, including items such as tents, medicines, food and trucks. The budget
includes hundreds of programs and operations that continually support the plight of the
refugees and other emergencies, such as the Syria crisis or large-scale repatriation
operations.

Viewing it from a liberal perspective, the UNHCR works hand in hand with other
organizations, offices, NGOs, governments and groups to help lead the coordinated
efforts needed by the Syrian people. UNHCR Syria, actually, works in cooperation with
21 International and National NGO Partners, and undertakes programs in all 14
governorates of Syria, aiming at reducing vulnerabilities and enhancing protection,
through a wide range of community based activities, with particular focus on the
neediest and most vulnerable population groups. The organization does not focus on
the realist view which leans towards on security but rather dives into migration,
economic crises, human rights abuses and war crimes. Furthermore, it has even
expanded its mandate to cater to more problems of human security including
involvement “in a range of activities which might have previously been considered
beyond its mandate.” UNHCR has helped countless refugees from the year it was
established. One of the relevant cases that the organization has been handling since
2011 is the Syrian refugee crisis or the Syria Emergency. Millions of people have fled
Syria and has continually been seeking refuge in nearby countries like Lebanon,
Turkey, Jordan and beyond. But in the state itself, almost 13.1 million are in need of
help, 6.1 million are internally displaced, and 2.98 million people are hard in hard to
reach and besieged areas. The bombs, bullets and unsafe environment Syrians have to
endure in a place they used to call home is indeed an indication that hope is fading very
fast. UNHCR has helped tackle this issue by being on the field and giving out
humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees, helping the most vulnerable with monetary
resources for medicine and food, stoves and fuel for heating, insulation for tents,
thermal blankets and winter clothing. For the internally displaced, the team has provided
shelters, protection services and even psychosocial support. In early 2017, the Syrian
war was heading into its seventh year and with still no hope for an end to the war, the
UNHCR joined forces with other United Nations humanitarian and development offices
to secure funding, which amounted to US $8 Billion, for the plight of the Syrian people
and people across the region. Other than monetary aid, the office created its framework
strategy through the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) for 2018-2019 which
outlined the ways and means for which an where the problem should be tackled. The
framework strategy could also be adopted by countries that are home to thousands of
refugees. The mission of the UNHCR does not stop with money or frameworks; it also
acknowledges the voice of other countries that prioritized health. According to its report,
UNHCR is supporting the provision of comprehensive primary health care including
mental health, essential and chronic disease’s medicines through Syrian Arab Red
Crescent and charity association’s clinics in Damascus, Rural Damascus, Homs,
Tartous, Aleppo, Hama, Idleb and Hassakeh. In addition to that, UNHCR supports the
emergency lifesaving referrals through the out contracted charity and private hospitals.
Moreover, UNHCR believes in the importance of lasting solutions. In Syria, the
organization has invested in shelters to affected populations in order to save lives,
reduce suffering and manage vulnerability. It has even divulged innovation and basic
need in one through its invention of the emergency shelter responses that provide
shelter kits, construction materials/tools, emergency shelters such as tents both inside
and outside of sites/ camps, the improvement of collective centers and spontaneous
sites in addition to transitional housing units. According to the UNHCR, in 2015, the
shelter response reached 129,645 displaced people in Syria using various shelter
solutions that included the upgrading of public and private collective shelters, the
distribution of shelter kits and materials, supporting the management and maintenance
of shelters, owner-oriented shelter support in addition to the establishment and support
of Operation and Maintenance units. The organization goes above and beyond in order
to respond to the needs of the people who need it the most but it is worth noting that
without the cooperation of the many groups that is part of UNHCR, the help that is
continually handed will not be as efficient and effective.
 In a liberalist point of view again, this 3RP strategy and health services serve as
the means where countries can cooperate and come together as one international
community and also, carry the burden of the current refugee crisis equally. The
organization and its programs are a way for each and every signatory of that 1951
Refugee Convention to come together and do its part for the world and is also the signal
that gives other parties the permission to protect the people wanting to leave their
homes and give the protection their government could not provide as of the moment.

The importance of the UNHCR is continually highlighted by the news we hear on

television, links we come across online and videos we so purposely avoid. The
international community should very much utilize the organization to forward the lives of
refugees that are in a place of deep despair. As an outsider in this crisis, I personally
believe that as an individual, it is important to speak with the organization. I speak with
the organization by saying that a change of approach should be of utmost importance
wherein resilience building and human rights are upheld in the organization. Refugees
and local organizations must be taught capacity-building measures to carry out more
productive services in the camps. In line with this, the international community must
recognize their obligation as equal sharers of the burden as stated in the New York
Declaration for Refugees and Migrants. Frameworks and programs that address the
issue at a multi-sectoral approach must be put in place at the soonest time possible.
Refugees should not be robbed of the opportunity to foster knowledge, attitudes and
skills critical for their eventual return. It is vital that the whole world acknowledges that
their life is as important as ours and that of the future generation.