United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a part of the United Nations. The purpose of this agency is to protect and support refugees when governments or the UN ask for help. The UNHCR helps refugees return home out of their voluntary will, settle locally, or move to a third country according to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and other international law. The agency's headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a member of the United Nations Development Group chaired by United Nations Development Programme.[1] The UNHCR has won two Nobel Peace Prizes in 1954 and in 1981.[2]
List of High Commissioners
change# | Photo | High Commissioners | Nationality | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
– | Fridtjof Nansen | Norway | 1922–1927 League of Nations High Commissioner | |
1 | Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart | Netherlands | 1951–1956 | |
2 | Auguste R. Lindt | Switzerland | 1956–1960 | |
3 | Félix Schnyder | Switzerland | 1960–1965 | |
4 | Sadruddin Aga Khan | Iran | 1965–1977 | |
5 | Poul Hartling | Denmark | 1978–1985 | |
6 | Jean-Pierre Hocké | Switzerland | 1986–1989 | |
7 | Thorvald Stoltenberg | Norway | 1990 | |
8 | Sadako Ogata | Japan | 1990–2000 | |
9 | Ruud Lubbers | Netherlands | 2001–2005 (Resign due to internal investigation) | |
10 | António Guterres | Portugal | 2005–2015 | |
11 | Filippo Grandi | Italy | 2016–present |
Related pages
changeReferences
change- ↑ "UNDG Members". Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
- ↑ "Nobel Laureates Facts – Organizations". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2009-10-13.