United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

• UNHCR was established on December 14, 1950 by the U.N. General Assembly and began its work on January 1, the following year. The agency helps the world's uprooted peoples by providing them with basic necessities such as shelter, food, water and medicine in emergencies and seeking long term solutions, including voluntary return to their homes or beginning afresh in new countries. In more than five decades, the agency has helped an estimated 50 million people restart their lives. Today, a staff of around 5,000 people in more than 120 countries continues to help an estimated 22 million people.