Governments normally guarantee the basic human rights and physical security of their citizens. But when people become refugees this safety net disappears.
Refugees fleeing war or persecution can be very vulnerable. They have no protection from their own state and it is often their own government that is persecuting them. If other countries do not let them in or protect them, they may be condemned to an intolerable situation where their basic rights, security and even their lives are in danger.
At UNHCR, we seek to uphold the basic human rights of uprooted or stateless people in their countries of asylum or habitual residence, ensuring that refugees will not be returned involuntarily to a country where they could face persecution. Longer term, we also help refugees find solutions, by repatriating voluntarily to their homeland, integrating in countries of asylum or resettling in third countries. For reasons of confidentiality and protection, UNHCR is not able to comment on or confirm the existence of individual cases.
In many countries, our staff work alongside other partners in a variety of locations ranging from capital cities to remote camps and border areas. They attempt to promote or provide legal and physical protection, and minimize the threat of violence – including sexual assault – which many refugees are subject to, even in countries of asylum. They also seek to provide at least a minimum of shelter, food, water and medical care in the immediate aftermath of any refugee exodus.