The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with over 17,300 staff working in 135 countries.
The United Nations Foundation is a charitable organization headquartered in Washington, DC, that supports the United Nations and its activities. It was established in 1998 with a $1 billion gift to the United Nations by philanthropist Ted Turner, who believed the UN was crucial for addressing the world's problems. Originally primarily a grantmaker, the UN Foundation has evolved into a strategic partner to the UN, mobilizing support to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and help the UN address issues such as climate change, global health, gender equality, human rights, data and technology, peace, and humanitarian responses. The UN Foundation's main work occurs through building public-private partnerships, communities, initiatives, campaigns, and alliances to broaden support for the UN and solve global problems. The UN Foundation has helped build awareness and advocate for action on, among others, antimicrobial resistance, regional action on climate change, local implementation of the SDGs, as well as global campaigns such as Nothing But Nets against malaria, the Measles & Rubella Initiative, the Clean Cooking Alliance, Girl Up, Shot@Life, and the Digital Impact Alliance, among others. In March 2020, the UN Foundation was also a key founder of the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund on behalf of the World Health Organization (WHO), helping to raise over $200 million USD within the first six weeks to support the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development nongovernmental organization. Founded in 1933 as the International Relief Association, at the request of Albert Einstein, and changing its name in 1942 after amalgamating with the similar Emergency Rescue Committee, the IRC provides emergency aid and long-term assistance to refugees and those displaced by war, persecution, or natural disaster. The IRC is currently working in about 40 countries and 26 U.S. cities where it resettles refugees and helps them become self-sufficient. It focuses mainly on health, education, economic wellbeing, power, and safety.
An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee.
Medair is an international non-governmental organisation (INGO) whose purpose is to relieve human suffering in some of the world's most remote and devastated places. Medair aims to assist people affected by natural disasters and conflict to recover with dignity through the delivery of quality humanitarian aid.
The Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative Fund scholarship programme offers refugee students the possibility to pursue an undergraduate degree in their country of asylum. Through the dedicated support of the German Government, and additional private donors, UNHCR was able to support over 9,300 young refugees since 1992.
Refugees of Iraq are Iraqi nationals who have fled Iraq due to war or persecution. Throughout 1980 until 2017, there were a large number of refugees fleeing Iraq and settling throughout the world, peaking with the Iraq War and continued until the end of the most recent War in Iraq (2013–2017). Precipitated by a series of conflicts including the Kurdish rebellions during the Iran–Iraq War, Iraq's Invasion of Kuwait (1990) and the Gulf War (1991), the subsequent sanctions against Iraq (1991–2003), culminating in the Iraq War and the subsequent War in Iraq (2013–2017), millions were forced by insecurity to flee their homes in Iraq. Like the majority of refugees worldwide, Iraqi refugees established themselves in urban areas in other countries rather than in refugee camps. In April 2007, there was an estimate of over four million Iraqi refugees around the world, including 1.9 million in Iraq, 2 million in neighboring Middle East countries, and around 200,000 in countries outside the Middle East. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has led the humanitarian efforts for Iraqi refugees. The Iraqi displacement of several million was the largest in the Middle East at the time, and was even larger than the number of Palestinians who were displaced in 1948 during the creation of the state of Israel.
The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) is an international organization that serves and protects uprooted people, including migrants, refugees, and internally displaced people, regardless of faith, race, ethnicity or nationality. With staff and programs in over 40 countries, ICMC advocates for sustainable solutions and rights-based policies directly and through a worldwide network of 132 member organizations.
Iraqis in Syria are Syrian citizens of Iraqi origin and Iraqi residents in Syria.
Rise Against Hunger is an international hunger relief non-profit organization that coordinates the packaging and distribution of food and other aid to people in developing nations. It was founded as Stop Hunger Now in 1998 by Ray Buchanan and John Hewitt. Rise Against Hunger mobilizes more than 400,000 volunteers each year to package meals for people in need around the globe.
Refugees of the Syrian Civil War are citizens and permanent residents of Syria who have fled the country throughout the Syrian Civil War. The pre-war population of the Syrian Arab Republic was estimated at 22 million (2017), including permanent residents. Of that number, the United Nations (UN) identified 13.5 million (2016) as displaced persons, requiring humanitarian assistance. Of these, since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011 more than six million (2016) were internally displaced, and around five million (2016) had crossed into other countries, seeking asylum or placed in Syrian refugee camps worldwide. It is often described as one of the largest refugee crises in history.
Africa Humanitarian Action is a non-governmental organization that provides relief services to countries in Africa. It was founded by Dr. David Zawde in 1994 in response to the Rwandan genocide.
Qatar Charity is a humanitarian and development non-governmental organization in the Middle East. It was founded in 1992 in response to the thousands of children who were made orphans by the Afghanistan war and while orphans still remain a priority cause in the organization's work with more than 150,000 sponsored orphans, it has now expanded its fields of action to include six humanitarian fields and seven development fields.
Third country resettlement or refugee resettlement is, according to the UNHCR, one of three durable solutions for refugees who fled their home country. Resettled refugees have the right to reside long-term or permanent in the country of resettlement and may also have the right to become citizens of that country.
The Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program (PSR) is a Canadian government initiative that allows for refugees to resettle in Canada with support and funding from private or joint government-private sponsorship. The government also offers semi-private sponsorship through the Blended Visa Office-Referred (BVOR) program, which connects private sponsors with pre-screened and pre-interviewed refugees.
The Stichting IKEA Foundation is a Dutch foundation founded in 1982 by Ingvar Kamprad, a Swedish billionaire and founder of IKEA. The foundation is funded by the Stichting INGKA Foundation. Initially focused on architecture and interior design, its scope expanded in 2009 to include "improving children's opportunities". In 2020, total grants disbursed by the foundation amounted to $220.67 million.
The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) is a Saudi Arabian government agency that provides development assistance to developing countries by financing social and infrastructure projects with the aim of improving lives and communities, which leads to supporting the economies of recipient countries by enhancing growth and job opportunities. SFD was established in 1974 and began operations in 1975. SFD's activities include development, finance, trade and funding. SFD is led by H.E. Mr. Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-khateeb who is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Minister of Tourism for Saudi Arabia. Dr. Khalid S. Alkhudairy is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SFD.
Community Sponsorship is a UK government-backed, volunteer-led refugee resettlement scheme. Inspired by the Canadian Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program of over 40 years, Community Sponsorship was introduced in the UK in 2016. The scheme enables groups of local volunteers to support a refugee family for their first year in the UK. It is eligible to those from Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt who are displaced due to the Syrian crisis.
UniRef – University for Refugees – is a humanitarian non-governmental organization, specialized in delivering higher education for refugees, and headquartered in Geneva (Switzerland). In partnership with world-class universities and international humanitarian organizations, UniRef offers university courses to refugees and to people from the host community facing financial difficulties. In order to propose a training adapted to the specific living context of the community and in line with the demands from the local labor market, this NGO provides its own courses in cooperation with its partners.
The Partnership for Central America (PCA) is a public–private partnership focused on economic development in the Northern Triangle of Central America to address the economic roots of migration with job creation and social programs. The Partnership is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was launched in May 2021 with Vice President Kamala Harris in support of the White House Call to Action to the Private Sector to Deepen Investment in the Northern Triangle.
