Italy | Global Focus

Italy is a key donor and partner around the world in protecting and assisting people of concern to UNHCR—refugees, stateless persons, returnees and internally displaced people.

Italy is a key donor and partner around the world in protecting and assisting people of concern to UNHCR—refugees, stateless persons, returnees and internally displaced people. As a member of UNHCR's Advisory Committee since 1951, and a founding member of UNHCR's Executive Committee since 1959, Italy’s support for UNHCR’s mandate and forcibly displaced people in the diplomatic, media and public spheres has been steadfast and robust. Italy is also a reliable partner for UNHCR across the seven regions thanks to its network of public officials and the numerous Italian NGOs involved in humanitarian assistance. Ultimately, Italy’s financial support to UNHCR directly contributes to the Office’s activities on the ground, saving lives, responding to new emergencies and offering solutions in protracted situations.

Italy’s vital contributions enable UNHCR to protect, assist, and seek solutions for people of concern. Funding supports critical UNHCR programmes—including emergency transit programmes, shelter services for IDPs, asylum-seekers and refugees, youth engagement, and the prevention of statelessness. In particular, Italy has shown a commitment to finding solutions for people of concern stranded in dire conditions through resettlement, humanitarian corridors and humanitarian evacuations. Italy’s unearmarked contributions mean UNHCR can respond quickly to emergencies, support people in protracted or forgotten crises no longer in the public eye, and maintain lifesaving protection and assistance in underfunded conflicts.

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Azraq refugee camp in Jordan is home to over 35,000 Syrian refugees.

For many families, Azraq provides security and stability. The Syria response is under-funded and UNHCR relies on unearmarked contributions to continue supporting refugees.

In Côte d'Ivoire, UNHCR has led a four-year campaign helping people battle the risk of statelessness, resulting in the 2018 decision which grants citizenship to many children.

With support from countries like Italy, UNHCR can continue to give hope to many more people at risk of statelessness.

When people are forced to flee their homes to escape war, persecution or violence, registration and documentation is a key first step in ensuring their protection.

In Ethiopia, with support from Italy, UNHCR is rolling out a new biometric identity management system for Eritrean refugees like Shikuri, pictured.

Issam is originally from Aleppo in Syria, but is now a refugee living near Beirut, Lebanon.

He was born deaf, and received a UNHCR-funded operation to install a cochlear implant giving him the ability to hear. Procedures, such as this one, promote resilience and allow refugees to thrive in their new environments. Italy is a top donor to UNHCR in Lebanon.

More than 4 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants have left their country because of political instability, a deteriorating socio-economic situation, insecurity and violence.

Yessenia and her husband left Venezuela because of a lack of food and medicine, particularly important for her daughter Crisbelles,12, who suffers from cerebral paralysis and requires constant medical care. Flexible funding from donors has enabled UNHCR to make a difference in 2019.

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