New Zealand is represented by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Representative in Canberra (Australia)
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. The UNHCR leads the international action to protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
Formally known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1950 in the aftermath of the Second World War to help the millions of people who had lost their homes.
Today, the UNHCR works in 137 countries and provides life-saving assistance, including shelter, food, water and medical care for people forced to flee conflict and persecution, many of whom have nobody left to turn to. The UNHCR defends people’s right to reach safety and helps them find a place to call home to rebuild their lives. Long term, the UNHCR works with countries to improve and monitor refugee and asylum laws and policies, ensuring human rights are upheld.
In everything they do, the UNHCR considers refugees and those forced to flee as partners, putting those most affected at the centre of planning and decision-making
