Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights / OHCHR Welcome page

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also known as the UN Refugee Agency, is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland and is a member of the United Nations Development Group.[1] The UNHCR has won two Nobel Peace Prizes, once in 1954 and again in 1981.[2] History[edit] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Following the demise of the League of Nations and the formation of the United Nations the international community was acutely aware of the refugee crisis following the end of World War II. In 1947, the International Refugee Organization (IRO) was founded by the United Nations.[3] The IRO was the first international agency to deal comprehensively with all aspects pertaining to refugees' lives.

Human Rights Bodies Human Rights Bodies The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) works to offer the best expertise and support to the different human rights monitoring mechanisms in the United Nations system : UN Charter-based bodies, including the Human Rights Council, and bodies created under the international human rights treaties and made up of independent experts mandated to monitor State parties' compliance with their treaty obligations. Most of these bodies receive secretariat support from the Human Rights Council and Treaties Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Charter-based bodies Charter bodies include the former Commission on Human Rights, the Human Rights Council , and Special Procedures. The Human Rights Council, which replaced the Commission on Human Rights, held its first meeting on 19 June 2006.

Jobs and Internships Please be aware of scam internet job listings advertising false opportunities with UNHCR London. The only valid format for UNHCR email addresses is: @unhcr.org Please see below for our London Internship programme and employment opportunities outside of the UK. Current Vacancies Digital/Donor Communication Associate Internships with UNHCR

Right to a family IntroductionRights at StakeInternational and Regional Instruments of Protection and PromotionNational Assistance, Protection and Service AgenciesAdvocacy, Educational and Training MaterialsOther Resources Introduction The family is the fundamental and natural unit of society and requires the full protection of the state. Navanethem Pillay Navanethem "Navi" Pillay (born 23 September 1941) is the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. A South African of Indian Tamil origin, she was the first non-white woman judge of the High Court of South Africa,[1] and she has also served as a judge of the International Criminal Court and President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Her four-year term as High Commissioner for Human Rights began on 1 September 2008[2] and was extended an additional two years in 2012.[3] Background[edit] Pillay was born in 1941 in a poor neighborhood of Durban, Natal Province, Union of South Africa.[1] She is of Tamil descent and her father was a bus driver.[1] She married Gaby Pillay, a lawyer, in January 1965.[4]

The Dictionary of Imaginary Places The Dictionary of Imaginary Places (1980, 1987, 1999) is a book written by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi. It takes the form of a catalogue of fantasy lands, islands, cities, and other locations from world literature—"a Baedecker or traveller's guide...a nineteenth-century gazetteer" for mental travelling. The book[edit] To remain of manageable size, the Dictionary excludes places that are off the planet Earth (eliminating many science fiction locales), as well as "heavens and hells and places of the future," and literary pseudonyms for existing places, like the Yoknapatawpha County of William Faulkner or the Barsetshire of Anthony Trollope and Angela Thirkell. It compensates by covering a wide range of anonymous and obscure sources, and volumes of forgotten lore.

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women - 60 years of work for equality, development and peace Introduction The United Nations' commitment to the advancement of women began with the signing of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco in 1945. Its Preamble declared faith "in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small…" In 1946 the Commission on the Status of Women was established to promote the advancement of women throughout the world.

drcongo Letter dated 12 April 2001 from the Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council I wish to refer to the presidential statement dated 2 June 2000 (S/PRST/2000/20) in which the Security Council requested me to establish a Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a period of six months. The Council also requested that the expert panel, once established, submit to the Council, through me, its final report at the end of the mandate. Further to my letter dated 2 April 2001, I have the honour to transmit to you the report of the Panel, submitted to me by the Chairperson of the Panel. I should be grateful if you would bring the report to the attention of the members of the Security Council.

Ahmadinejad speech at UN prompts mass walkout 23 September 2011Last updated at 04:19 Delegations walk out during Ahmadinejad UN speech Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said he believes - as an engineer - the World Trade Center towers could not have been brought down by aircraft. Interviewed after his address to the UN General Assembly sparked a walkout, he told the AP news agency some kind of planned explosion must have occurred.

Zohre Elahian's Passion for Humanity Source: PARSA Community Foundation Persistent, self-sacrificing, and with a heart of gold, Zohre is the embodiment of volunteerism at its ideal. Residing in Los Altos, California with her husband Kamran Elahian, a trailblazing philanthropist himself, Zohre has found not one, but several ways to help communities in need. UN must probe OWS crackdown' 'UN must probe OWS crackdown' Head of Iran's Majlis (parliament) Human Rights Sub-committee Zohreh Elahian An Iranian lawmaker has called on the UN Human Rights Council to probe the US crackdown on the Occupy Wall Street movement protesters. Head of Iran Majlis (parliament) Human Rights Sub-committee, Zohreh Elahian said, “The crackdown has created deplorable scenes which should be investigated as human rights violations”, Fars News Agency said on Wednesday. She said that the Majlis Rights Sub-committee seeks to raise the Wall Street crackdown in a UN Human Rights Council session.

UNESCO suspends new programmes after U.S. funding cut PARIS Thu Nov 10, 2011 10:43pm GMT PARIS (Reuters) - The United Nations' cultural agency has suspended new programs in response to the U.S. decision to cut off funding after UNESCO granted the Palestinians membership, the agency said Thursday. UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova told the UNESCO General Conference in Paris the U.S. cut had left a $65 million (41 million pound) hole in the agency's 2011 budget.