Speech by Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at the European Policy Centre, Brussels Mr Van Rompuy, Ladies and gentlemen, A year has passed since the peak of what has been called – though I am not sure the terminology is correct – the “European refugee crisis”. A...

The Republic of Malta and the Republic of Estonia will successively hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) in 2017 in a challenging context. In 2015, over one million refugees and migrants undertook dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea in search of safety. The capa...

Brussels, 10 February 2017- UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, welcomed today renewed commitments taken at this week’s Senior Officials’ Meeting on migration in Valletta, Malta, and called for the full inclusion of refugees in all migration-related EU actions. “I am encouraged by the reiterated engagem...

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Cécile Pouilly – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. 20 June 2017 UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency received information last night about three new shipwrecks in the Mediterrane...

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Cécile Pouilly – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. 08 September 2017 UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is concerned by the deteriorating situation on Greece’s eastern Aegean is...

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. For over a week, UNHCR teams have been working around the clock to meet the urgent needs of over 14,500 migrants and ref...

VIENNA, Austria - On a Saturday night at the Schwarzberg music pub, the crowd is going wild. Refugees are jamming with music students who have been teaching the newcomers how to play their instruments. Milad Osman, 23, from Afghanistan, is playing a short piano solo on the stage, even though he h...

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, is launching today an innovative action plan to expand employment opportunities for refugees. The document not only identifies the challenges, opportunities and best practices in the integratio...

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, today released its recommendations to the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU). UNHCR is urging the Austrian Presidency to lead and unite EU Member States to deliver coherent and common European asylum policies that ensure access to territory an...

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency is relieved that the remaining rescued persons on board the Italian coast guard vessel ‘Diciotti’ have now disembarked. UNHCR commends those countries and organisations that have shown solidarity and given tangible assistance by offering to take in those who remained ...