How is UNHCR funded? UNHCR relies almost entirely on voluntary contributions. Individual governments and the European Union provide 86 per cent of our budget.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a UN agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country.

The UNHCR has been effective in facilitating voluntary repatriation in cases where conflicts in the country of origin have ceased, but where this has not happened, the UNHCR has not been effective and the influence of major powers has, at times, necessitated forced repatriation.

Financial Charts

How many refugees are there around the world? At least 79.5 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes. Among them are nearly 26 million refugees, around half of whom are under the age of 18.

The most common reason people become refugees is persecution — which can take on many forms: religious, national, social, racial, or political. Many famous individuals have been, at one point or another, a political refugee.

An immigrant is someone who leaves their country—often by choice—and seeks residence in a new country. The fundamental difference between a refugee and an immigrant is that refugees feel the need to flee their homes, whereas immigrants have more of a choice.

Global population of concern As of 2018, 70.8 million individuals have been forcibly displaced worldwide because of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations, per the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

WHAT DO REFUGEES leave behind? They leave loved ones unable or unwilling to leave, family members and friends “disappeared” or killed by armed groups, or lost to starvation and disease. They leave homes, possessions, land, anything not easily carried on their backs or in a suitcase.

Here are eight other equally meaningful ways you can help:

• Host refugees and asylum seekers in your home.
• Volunteer your specific skill.
• Help refugees to integrate into a new culture.
• Encourage your university to offer refugee scholarships.
• Employ refugees.
• Offer opportunities for refugees to volunteer.

If you wish to volunteer in person, you’ll need to register online in their “Global Talent Pool” at https://www.unv.org/become-volunteer/volunteer-abroad/how-to-register-global-talent-pool. You’ll create a profile that includes some basic information about your life, your level of education, and your work experience.

The best way of finding a volunteer position within a refugee camp is to decide first who you want to help and where, then research which organizations work with that population. After that, you generally apply to volunteer directly with an individual NGO or charity group.

Hosting people who have the right to remain in the UK is legal provided that no rent (or other payment which might be construed as rent) is being paid. Most asylum seeker guests are referred to us by established referral agencies.