United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Published on 14 Nov 2025

• Recently, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has temporarily suspended voluntary repatriation of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees from India after arrests of returnees in Sri Lanka. 

• UNHCR formally known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees is the UN Refugee Agency, established in 1950 by the UN General Assembly to assist people displaced after World War II.

• It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland with operations in 137 countries.

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• UNHCR is guided by the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol, which defines refugees and sets global standards for their rights and protection.

• It provides refugee protection, humanitarian aid, promotion of durable solutions (asylum, repatriation, integration, resettlement), and support to states in framing refugee policies under international law.

• 1951 Refugee Convention & 1967 Protocol defines a refugee as a person outside their home country, unable/unwilling to return due to a well-founded fear of persecution (based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or social group). 

• Note: UNHCR, a UN agency, is different from UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), formed in 2006, an intergovernmental body of 47 member states elected by the UN General Assembly for 3-year terms that monitors global human rights, reviews country records, and issues recommendations. 

• While UNHCR is operational and field-focused, the UNHRC is policy- and monitoring-oriented, serving as a platform for human rights governance.

Keywords:

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR Refugees Refugee Convention Human rights