Tunis, Tunisia – 1 February 2017. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is conducting a two-week course on human rights and refugee law for the Libyan Coastguard and Navy. The training is being held on an Italian ship crossing the Mediterranean Sea. “This training represents an important opportunity t...

GENEVA, Aug 18 (UNHCR) – More refugees and migrants arrived in Greece last month than during the whole of 2014, the UN refugee agency announced on Tuesday, and called for a European-wide response to deal with the escalating crisis. UNHCR said that in July 50,242 people, mostly fleeing the conflic...

GENEVA, Aug 27 (UNHCR) – With almost 60 million people forcibly displaced globally and boat crossings of the Mediterranean in the headlines almost daily, it is becoming increasingly common to see the terms 'refugee' and 'migrant' being used interchangeably in media and public discourse. But is there...

Con quasi 60 milioni di persone costrette a lasciare le proprie case in tutto il mondo e le traversate in barca del Mediterraneo in prima pagina quasi ogni giorno, è sempre più comune vedere i termini “rifugiato” e “migrante” usati in maniera intercambiabile, sia tra i media che nei dibattiti. Ma tr...

A UNHCR report shows that worldwide displacement from wars, conflict, and persecution is at the highest levels we have recorded, and accelerating fast.

GENEVA, Aug 26 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency head António Guterres on Wednesday reiterated the need to protect refugees fleeing to Europe by ensuring they are protected from human traffickers and that a properly functioning system is created to allow them to apply for asylum legally. At a joint...

It is dusk by the time volunteers arrive at a busy square in central Budapest. With them, they carry hot food and fresh water – nothing short of a lifeline for the tired and hungry refugee families who are there to meet them. Little children are at first shy to accept the plates and spoons. However,...

Rimaz and her husband, Mohammed, are flicking through photos on their smartphone while their young children explore a park in Catania, Sicily. There’s Liain’s third birthday party a few months ago, four-year-old Iyad enjoying a horse ride, Rimaz’s mother, and the bloodied body of a relative killed t...

Statement by UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres on refugee crisis in Europe Press Releases, 4 September 2015 The European Union is preparing key emergency meetings to take decisions in its response to the present refugee and migration crisis. The situation requires a massive com...

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 22 September 2015, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. As EU leaders meet in Brussels today and tomorrow, UNHCR is urging them to unite behind emergency pr...