Legal Protection
© UNHCR / G. Amarasinghe
Based on the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention, UNHCR's core mandate is to ensure the international protection of uprooted people worldwide.
Our organization promotes the basic human rights of refugees and ensures they will not be returned involuntarily to a country where they face persecution. We help them to repatriate to their homeland when conditions permit, integrate into states of asylum or resettle in third countries. We also promote international refugee agreements, help states establish asylum structures and act as an international watchdog over refugee issues.
Resettlement
The 1951 Refugee Convention
UNHCR Statute
Handbook for Determining Refugee Status and Guidelines on International Protection
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 11: Prima Facie Recognition of Refugee Status, 5 June 2015 24 Jun 2015
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 10: Claims to Refugee Status related to Military Service within the context of Article 1A (2) of the 1951 Convention and/or the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, 3 December 2013 4 Sep 2014
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 9: Claims to Refugee Status based on Sexual Orientation and/or Gender Identity within the context of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, 23 October 2012 23 Oct 2012
Legal and Protection Policy Research
A series of legal research and protection policy papers issued by the UNHCR Division of International Protection.
Related news and stories
News
Q&A: The New York Declaration is a 'once in a lifetime chance' for refugees
News
UN Summit commits to protect refugee, migrant rights
News
UNHCR pledges to better protect and assist people displaced by disaster
News
UNHCR leads in LGBTI refugee, asylum seeker protection
News
Call for UNHCR staff to join goal of ending HIV/AIDS-related discrimination
News