The United Nations High Comissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was created in 1950 to help refugees that emerged from the Second World War. During its existence, the UN Refugee Agency has helped more than 50 million refugees, by providing them assistance and protection, as well as defending their basic human rights.
Created by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Executive Committee of UNHCR (ExCom) started to work in 1959 to take the place of the old Executive Committee of the United Nations Refugee Fund. It is entrusted with the terms of the General Assembly resolution 1166.
ExCom meets annually in Geneva to review the use of agency's funds, approve programmes and projects and discusses a range of issues with UNHCR members and intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. This way, the agency issues conclusions on substantive questions related to international protection.
Although the conclusions don't bind on States, the Executive Committe is a potential mean of influencing States, to fill some of the current gaps in the international protection regime. Therefore, is an important committee to the the development of the international refugee law.
By 2015, ExCom had 98 members. Furthermore, UN agencies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and representatives of other UN member states have observer status at the Comittee. They can, if allowed by the Chair person, speak after ExCom members, but they are not authorized to vote.
Topics Overview
Topic A: Armed attacks on Refugee Camps
The armed attacks on refugee camps are becoming frequent, and have been taking off lives of innocent civilian refugees and UN peacekeepers. One of the most recent attacks, in Syria, has left at least 30 civilians dead, including children, and has been considered by the United Nations as a likely war crime.
At one of the sessions of the Executive Comittee (ExCom), the delegations pointed out about the need to condemn the attacks, prohibit the military and armed attacks on camps, restrain attacking countries, protect and provide support to those countries where the attacked refugee camps are situated. The General Assembly condemned all violations of the rights and safety of refugees and asylum – seekers, in particular those perpetrated by military or armed attacks against refugee camps and other forms of brutality.
The UNHCR stressed the responsability of countries and international organizations to protect civilians and keep the safety and neutrality of the refugee camps.
Topic B: Stateless People
Today, 10 million people are stateless, which means they are not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law, and therefore, the access to education, health care, marriage and job opportunities are denied to them.
Some of the causes of statelessness are the gaps in nationality laws, the emergence of new states and changes in borders, and the loss or deprivation of nationality, sometimes caused by the use of discriminatory criteria like ethnicity or race. Many actions are being taken, in the last years, with the objective of ending statelesness.
The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution in which it “welcomes the call by the High Commissioner for action to end statelessness within a decade" and the UN Secretary-General urged Member States to support the campaign to end statelessness and ensure that everyone enjoys the right to a nationality.
The Executive Commitee called upon States to adopt nationality legislation with a view to reducing statelessness, in particular by preventing arbitrary deprivation of nationality, and by eliminating provisions which permit the renunciation of a nationality without the prior possession or acquisition of another nationality.
Topic C: Women and Children Refugees
Women and children consisted of 50 percent of all refugees who fled to Europe by sea in 2015. The number of children is growing dramatically as a result of escalating crises in places where violence and conflict are affecting entire populations.
These groups are particularly vulnerable, and are subjected to high risks of abuse, including sexual violence. Education and employment opportunities for girls are further limited by gender-based violence and discrimination.
The UN'S refugee agency recognizes that men, women and children are differently affected by being a refugee and believes that effective programming must recognize these differences. UNHCR is one of many organizations which works around the world to help displaced women and children, helping to create awareness of abuses against women and, ultimately, to end sexual violence and make the world safer for them.