United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also known as the UN Refugee Agency, is the world's leading organization assisting and protecting people that are forced to flee their homes. As a result of the formation by the United Nations General Assembly in 1950, UNHCR has helped an estimated 50 million refugees restart their lives. UNHCR serves to protect refugees in times of emergency and crisis, and support them in the months or years that follow. The agency provides refugees with emergency relief in the form of shelter, food, water, medical care, cash assistance, education, and other lifesaving assistance.

Although the hope is for refugees to eventually to return home, if that scenario isn't an option, UNHCR helps families restart their lives in another country. UNHCR works to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge, having fled violence, persecution, war, or disaster at home.