This publication provides a synthesis of UNHCR’s flagship
publication, The State of the World’s Refugees: In Search of Solidarity.
The book itself was produced during 2011-2012, and written from the
perspective of UNHCR, drawing on experiences from the past seven years.
It is divided into eight thematic chapters, which together reflect the
state of the world’s refugees. Growing numbers without state protection
First, the book describes growing numbers of people who lack the full
protection of their state. Tens of millions of people
worldwide—including 33.9 million people of concern to UNHCR—are
therefore particularly vulnerable. Most are people at risk from armed
conflicts and political violence in their communities and countries of
origin: civilians in conflict, refugees, asylum-seekers, refugees in
protracted displacement, and internally displaced…
This synthesis of The State of the World’s Refugees: In Search for
Solidarity, is intended for UNHCR’s diverse stakeholders, and all
people concerned with forced displacement. The book is available from
Oxford University Press at:
http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199654758.do. The world’s refugee
protection system was established with the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, in 1950 and the adoption of
the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the
1951 Refugee Convention). The system was designed to respond to the
potentially destabilizing effects of population movements from the
Second World War and its aftermath, and to uphold the rights of refugees
and support the countries hosting them. The Convention has since been
supplemented by the 1967 Protocol, as well as…
This chapter examines the impact of conflict and insecurity on
forced displacement and the humanitarian response worldwide. In view of
the tens of millions of people forcibly displaced by conflict today, the
chapter examines the changing nature of conflict, the challenges this
poses for humanitarian action, and the ‘risk management’ approach
adopted by UNHCR and other humanitarian actors. It concludes with an
outline of expected future challenges in addressing forced displacement
in conflicts. In 2011, UNHCR worked in situations of armed conflict more
than ever before in its 60-year history. A majority of the 10.4 million
refugees under its mandate fled from conflicts, more than half of them
from Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia. Since the start of 2011, UNHCR has
responded to new outflows…
This chapter describes the increasingly complex challenge of
preserving refugee protection and the integrity of asylum. It begins by
describing the international legal framework for refugee protection,
then describes the inconsistencies that beset its practice, and its
entwinement with other forms of migration and the need to strengthen the
‘governance’ of the international refugee protection system. It
concludes with a list of steps to keep asylum meaningful. The world’s
refugee protection regime was designed to offer international protection
to refugees who cannot rely on the protection of their own state. The
term ‘asylum’ is not defined in international law, but it has come to
refer to a status that guarantees refugees the enjoyment of their full
human rights in a host country. For more…
This chapter explores how the established framework of three
durable solutions might be adjusted to respond better to the needs of
today’s refugees. It begins by outlining the three traditional durable
solutions, goes on to describe the importance of comprehensive
strategies which include development and peacebuilding, and then
considers how refugees themselves approach durable solutions. It
concludes by suggesting policy directions to revitalize the search for
solutions. The ultimate aim of refugee protection is to secure lasting
solutions to refugee problems. Lasting solutions may be achieved by
returning to a home country (voluntary repatriation), by settling
permanently in the country where the refugee has found protection (local
integration), or by relocating to a third country which offers the
refugee permanent residence (resettlement). A durable…
This chapter examines global developments in addressing the
problem of statelessness. It begins by describing the international
legal framework relating to statelessness, goes on to describe the
various causes of statelessness, and then outlines various efforts to
resolve the problem. It concludes that statelessness can often be
effectively resolved, and notes renewed international commitments to
address the problem. Everyone has the right to a nationality, as
affirmed in Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Possession of nationality often serves as a key to enjoying many other
rights, such as education, health care, employment and equality before
the law. Two global instruments provide guidance on the rights of
stateless people and on how statelessness can be avoided: the 1954
Convention relating to…
This chapter reviews progress achieved during the past six years
in establishing a broad understanding of what the protection of
internally displaced persons (IDPs) means in practice, as well as the
continuing need for national and international engagement. It begins by
outlining how internal displacement has become an international concern,
goes on to describe the role of the international community, including
in legal and operational protection, and then considers the conditions
needed for displacement to end. It concludes with an assessment of
future prospects, and offers some directions for future progress. In
recent years, IDPs have emerged as the largest group of people receiving
UNHCR’s protection and assistance. By 2011, UNHCR was engaged with 14.7
million IDPs in 26 countries, in contexts ranging from…
This chapter looks at the challenges of rethinking UNHCR’s
response to refugees in urban areas. The chapter begins with a
description of UNHCR’s evolving policy on urban refugees, goes on to
outline the particular protection challenges in cities and then
describes UNHCR’s adapted operations and good practices. It concludes
that broader partnerships and adequate funding will be needed to address
these challenges. As the world becomes urbanized, refugees and
displaced people increasingly live in cities and towns too. It is
difficult to know the precise number of refugees, returnees and IDPs who
live in urban areas. But these populations are diverse, including
single young men, women, children and older people, as well as some
highly vulnerable people. Refugees and displaced people frequently
struggle to…
This chapter examines the international response to the
displacement linked to climate change and natural disasters. It begins
by describing the displacement challenges linked to the effects of
climate change and natural disasters, and then describes a potential
normative gap in the protection of people displaced across borders owing
to these phenomena. It concludes that protection gaps need to be
addressed by the international community, and that solidarity will be
tested by the impacts of climate change. The scale and complexity of
human displacement will be increased by climate change, a defining issue
of our times. More people are already displaced annually by natural
disasters than by conflict, and the long term effects of climate change
are expected to trigger large-scale population movements within…
This chapter considers how international solidarity can help
states to meet their responsibilities concerning refugees and contribute
to improving their protection and finding lasting solutions to their
problems. It begins by describing international solidarity and the
impact of refugees on host countries, goes on to describe
responsibility-sharing practices among states, and then describes
efforts to strengthen international solidarity. It concludes by
restating evolving challenges and the need for responsible states,
international cooperation and meaningful solidarity to address them. The
international refugee protection system is founded on national
responsibility and states complying with their legal obligations towards
refugees and others at risk, on the basis of treaties and customary
international law. At the same time, the system depends on international
solidarity, the principle by which…
The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is an occasion to salute the 120,000 peacekeepers serving in 17 missions in some of the world’s most volatile and dangerous environments.
This Day is also a time to mourn fallen peacekeepers. In 2011, 112 men and women died devoting their lives to peace. In the first four months of this year, another 27 peacekeepers have died while serving the United Nations.
Today we honour the memory of the more than 2,900 peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the line of duty over the years, and we pledge to carry on their work to bring stability to war-ravaged countries.
The fallen peacekeepers came from many different troop-contributing countries, a poignant reminder of the global partnership that underpins United Nations peacekeeping.
Currently, 116 Member States contribute military and police personnel to our operations.
This impressive number reflects growing global confidence in the value of United Nations peacekeeping as a tool for collective security. Our new observer mission in Syria is the latest example that demonstrates how the international community looks to the United Nations for solutions to emerging challenges. The Mission is facing difficult challenges but serves bravely to help keep the parties, starting with the Government of Syria, to their commitments to cease the violence that has killed thousands of people. It is part of the larger UN efforts led by the Joint Special Envoy to end the violence and seek a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
The ultimate goal of any UN peacekeeping mission is to no longer be necessary. Until we reach that objective, we make every effort for peacekeeping to be as effective and efficient as possible.
I am deeply grateful for every contribution of troops and police, as well as for the financial and material resources that make peacekeeping possible.
I also thank all countries that provide political support and leadership. Members of the Security Council, in particular, guide and strengthen our work by establishing mandates and updating our deployments to respond to changing conditions on the ground.
Regional organizations play an increasingly important role. The African Union and the United Nations, for example, are working closely together in Darfur and Somalia while jointly addressing the threat posed by the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army. These partnerships help give UN peacekeeping the flexibility it needs to address today’s wide-ranging challenges to international peace and security.
On this International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, let us remember the sacrifice of those who have served, and let us pledge to strengthen the global partnerships that make our blue helmets a beacon of hope to millions of people around the world.
29 May 2012 - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presided over a ceremony to award the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal posthumously to the military, police and civilian personnel who lost their lives while serving in peacekeeping operations in 2011
Dag Hammarskjöld medal ceremony (International Day of UN Peacekeepers 2012)
Wreath-laying ceremony - International Day of UN Peacekeepers 2012
Special event on the occasion of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers organized by the Office of Military Affairs, Department of Peacekeeping Operations
Since its beginning in 1948, United Nations peacekeeping has evolved into one of the main tools used by the international community to manage complex crises that threaten international peace and security.
The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, which is commemorated each year on the 29th of May, is an occasion to salute the 120,000 peacekeepers serving in 17 missions in some of the world’s most volatile and dangerous environments. This Day is also a time to mourn fallen peacekeepers. During its history, nearly 3,000 “Blue Helmets” have died devoting their lives to peace, including 112 men and women in 2011.
This year, the United Nations is marking the Day by highlighting the global partnerships that help sustain UN Peacekeeping and make it the success that it is.
United Nations Peacekeeping draws together the legal and political authority of the Security Council, the personnel and financial contributions of Member States, the support of host countries and the accumulated experience of the Secretariat in managing operations in the field. It is this partnership that gives UN Peacekeeping its legitimacy, sustainability and global reach.
Currently, UN Peacekeeping operations receive contributions of military and police personnel from 116 Member States. This impressive number reflects growing global confidence in the value of United Nations Peacekeeping as a tool for collective security. It also demonstrates the strength and breadth of the partnership that the UN Organization has with the countries, large and small, that make it up.
In addition to those partnerships with individual Member States, United Nations Peacekeeping works closely with UN agencies, funds and programmes in support of humanitarian and development work on the ground. Creative partnerships with international and regional organizations are also becoming a regular feature in UN Peacekeeping to create a common vision, build capacity and share costs. A recent example includes the African Union (AU) in the work of the joint African Union – United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur. Working together to address threats to global security and to save lives they are a beacon of hope to millions of people around the world.
“PEACEKEEPING IS A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP”
UN Peacekeeping works with Member States, host countries, UN partners and regional organizations to address threats to international peace and security.
Peacekeepers with the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) consult a map as they drive through vast desert areas in Smara, Western Sahara.
ICTs
play a catalytic role in creating opportunities for people in every
walk of life, especially for those among us who are vulnerable and
disadvantaged, while providing the framework for long-term sustainable
development.
This year, on World Telecommunication and Information Society
Day, we are determined to harness the full potential of ICTs for the
benefit of women and girls by eliminating gender disparities and
empowering them to meet their goals and aspirations. The theme of this
year’s WTISD, “Women and Girls in ICT”, aims to ensure that this
significant, female half of the world’s population will march forward as
equals.
Women are the bedrock of our societies. They are the pillars
of strength in every family and community. Yet gender inequalities
remain deeply entrenched. Women and girls are denied access to basic
health care and education and to equal opportunities at work. They face
segregation in economic, political and social decision-making and often
suffer violence and discrimination.
This situation is unacceptable and we must address it with all the means available to us.
Gender equality is a basic human right enshrined in the UN
Charter, and it is one of the main objectives of the UN Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). ICTs are tools that can help accelerate
progress towards achieving this target, and it is for this reason that
ITU Council proposed that we focus our efforts this year on women and
girls, using the power of ICTs to provide new digital opportunities to
end discrimination and empower women and girls to achieve their rightful
place as equals in the world. This effort with ICTs must begin not only
from the cradle, but from antenatal health care, reaching out to the
remotest communities through telemedicine and other means ― with every
mother, every girl and every woman guaranteed her birthright.
I call upon ITU Member States, Sector Members and Associates
as well as academia and citizens’ groups to pull together every
conceivable resource to ensure that women and girls in every community
around the world have full access to ICTs in order to empower them with
information and knowledge, to know their rights, and to seize every
available digital opportunity.
I also call upon our other partners and stakeholders ―
political leaders, policy makers, regulators, operators, industry and
civil society ― to adopt policies and strategies that will promote ICT
opportunities for women and girls. National governments,
private sector, donors, civil society and educationists need to
acknowledge and support the central role professional women can play in
further developing and servicing a dynamic and competitive ICT sector.
The growing demand for a range of ICT skills around the globe present a
unique window of opportunity to properly position girls and women in the
industry and provide them with the tools necessary to succeed.
The
ICT sector in particular can pave the way by providing avenues of
advancement to professional women at the highest echelons of decision
making and by encouraging young women to seek new careers within the
sector.
I urge you to celebrate World Telecommunication and
Information Society Day this year by paying particular attention to the
special needs of women and girls, extending to them the benefits of ICTs
so as to create a paradigm shift in opportunities offered now and in
the future. An egalitarian and just society is the basis for a peaceful
and prosperous world.
I welcome the focus on women and girls as the theme of this year’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. Information and communications technologies are already
benefiting women and girls in numerous ways. E-commerce is expanding
opportunities for entrepreneurship. Mobile telephones are enabling
midwives to make childbirth safer. Electronic social networks are
allowing women around the world to mobilize as never before for
democracy, dignity and human rights.
At the same time, we know that information and communications
technology has the potential to cause harm. Cyberbullying,
Internet-driven human trafficking and other abuses are often targeted at
women and girls. We must do everything possible to stop these crimes
and promote greater online security for all people.
More broadly, we should work to optimize the power of
information and communications technology to support sustainable
development. By gathering, disseminating and analyzing information, we
can accelerate action to protect natural resources, combat climate
change and help vulnerable people, including women and girls.
This is especially important in the context of the “Rio+20”
United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held next
month in Brazil. In the final run-up to the Conference, and then
especially afterwards as we implement the decisions taken there,
information and communications technology can make possible new
approaches and solutions for a sustainable future.
On this World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, I
call again for wide-ranging efforts to close both the digital divide
and the gender gap. All people must be able to make the best use of
information and communications technology to help create the future we
want.
Family issues became an object of increasing attention at the United
Nations during the 1980s. In 1983, acting on the recommendation of the
Commission for Social Development at its twenty-eighth session, the
Economic and Social Council, in its resolution on the role of the family
in the development process(1983/23), requested that the
Secretary-General "enhance awareness among decision makers and public of
the problems and needs of the family, as well as effective ways of
meeting those needs." In its resolution 1985/29 of 29 May 1985, the
Council invited the General Assembly to consider the possibility of
including "an item entitled 'Families in the development process', with a
view to considering a possible request to the Secretary-General to
initiate a process of development of global awareness of the issues
involved."
Subsequently, acting on the recommendation of the Commission for
Social Development at its thirtieth session and the Council at its first
regular session of 1987 (resolution 1987/42 of 28 May 1987), the
Assembly, in its resolution 42/134 of 7 December 1987, invited "all
States to make their views known concerning the possible proclamation of
an international year of the family and to offer their comments and
proposals." It also requested "the Secretary-General to submit to the
General Assembly at its forty-third session a comprehensive report,
based on the comments and proposals of Member States, on the possible
proclamation of such a year and other ways and means to improve the
position and well-being of the family and to intensify international
co-operation as part of global efforts to advance social progress and
development".
1994 was proclaimed the International Year of the Family by the
United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution 44/82 of 9 December
1989.
Event for 2012
Panel discussion on “Ensuring work-family balance”
Organized by the Division for Social Policy and Development of
the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) in cooperation
with the NY NGO Committee on the Family Tuesday, 15 May, 2012
Conference Room 6, 1:15 – 2:45 p.m.
United Nations, New York
Programme
Moderator
Professor Margaret O’Brien
Co-Director, Centre for Research on the Child and Family
University of East Anglia
Dr. Jody Heymann
Canada Research Chair in Global Health and Social Policy
McGill University
Families at Work: What we Know about Conditions Globally
Dr. Meejung Chin
Department of Child Development & Family Studies
Seoul National University
Demographic Changes and Work-Family Balance Policies in East Asia
Dr. Corina Rodríguez Enríquez
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas,
Centro Interdiciplinario para el Estudio de Políticas Públicas, Argentina
Work-family balance issues in Latin America: a Roadmap for National Care Systems
Dr. Nurper Ulkuer Chief, Early Childhood Development Unit
United Nations Children’s Fund
The Importance of Quality Child Care for Work-Family Balance
This year’s International Day of Families highlights the need
for work-family balance. The aim is to help workers everywhere provide
for their families financially and emotionally, while also
contributing to the socio-economic development of their societies.
Current trends underscore the growing importance of work-family
policies. These include greater participation by women in the labour
market, and growing urbanization and mobility in search for jobs. As
families become smaller and generations live apart, extended kin are
less available to offer care, and employed parents face rising
challenges.
Millions of people around the world lack decent working
conditions and the social support to care for their families.
Affordable quality childcare is rarely available in developing
countries, where many parents are forced to leave their preschool
children home alone. Many young children are also left in the care of
older siblings who, in turn, are pulled from school.
A number of countries offer generous leave provisions for
mothers and fathers. Many more, however, extend few comprehensive
benefits in line with international standards. Paternity leave
provisions are still rare in the majority of developing countries.
Flexible working arrangements, including staggered working
hours, compressed work schedules or telecommuting, are becoming more
widely available – but there is much room for improvement everywhere. I
am committed to this in our own organization, where we are currently
looking at our own arrangements, and seeing what we can do better.
We need to respond to the ever-changing complexities of work and
family life. I welcome the establishment of family-friendly
workplaces through parental leave provisions, flexible working
arrangements and better childcare.
Such policies and programmes are critical to enhancing the
work-family balance. These actions can also lead to better working
conditions, greater employee health and productivity, and a more
concerted focus on gender equality.
Work-family balance policies demonstrate both a government’s
commitment to the well-being of families and the private sector’s
commitment to social responsibility.
On this International Day of Families, let us renew our pledge
to promote work-family balance for the benefit of families and society
at large.
