The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), based in Geneva, was established in 1950 to protect refugees and internally displaced persons, and to help them restart their lives in safe, normal environments. The phrase "High Commissioner for Refugees" refers both to the individual who holds that title, currently Antonio Guterres, and to the office under that person's direction. UNHCR works toward long-term, durable solutions including emergency relief, repatriation, integration into countries of first asylum and resettlement to third countries. Of UNHCR's more than 6,500 staff members (approximately one per every 3,000 persons of concern to UNHCR), 84 percent work in 236 field offices in 116 countries. Among the nations that receive refugees for resettlement, the United States welcomes the largest number. And among the 10 U.S. agencies that partner with UNCHR to resettle refugees in the United States, LIRS is the second largest.

Page added June 15, 2006.