United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) China

About Us

UNHCR was founded by the United Nations General Assembly on December 14, 1950. As an international humanitarian organization, UNHCR is mandated to lead and coordinate global action to protect and seek solutions for those forced to flee their homes because of war or persecution. UNHCR is committed to ensuring that everyone has the right to seek and enjoy asylum in other countries, return voluntarily, integrate locally or be resettled to a third country when circumstances permit.

For its pioneering work in helping European refugees after World War II and its assistance to refugees around the world, UNHCR won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and 1981. Currently, UNHCR has more than 18,000 staff around the world and helps tens of millions of refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, stateless people, and returnees in more than 130 countries. UNHCR pays special attention to the needs of children and is committed to advocating the equal rights of refugee women and refugee girls.

UNHCR officially began its work in China in 1979. Today, according to its mandate, UNHCR provides registration for individual asylum seekers in China, carries out refugee status determination, and seeks long-term solutions for refugees. With China’s increasing attention to refugee issues, the scope of cooperation between UNHCR and relevant Chinese departments has been expanding and deepening. Since 2016, UNHCR has had fruitful cooperation with the Chinese government and successfully implemented a number of international refugee assistance projects supported by the Chinese government, providing assistance to hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East with good results achieved. The areas of assistance cover education, health, shelter, emergency supplies, water, and food aid.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, China has worked with UNHCR to actively support vulnerable groups such as refugees and host communities through South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund projects and in-kind donations, providing COVID-19 response assistance to vulnerable groups such as refugees in Africa and Asia. China’s support has contributed to alleviating the humanitarian crisis caused by the pandemic, recovery from the pandemic, and promoting the implementation of the United Nations 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

UNHCR and relevant Chinese authorities also cooperate through the Junior Professional Officer and internship programs sponsored by the Chinese government which attracts talented Chinese youth to work or gain experience in UNHCR global operations.

As UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi said, “The global refugee issue has also grown bigger and more complicated as factors causing people to flee are increasingly mixed. We hope that China can invest some of those resources directly in countries hosting large numbers of refugees and displaced people. In doing so, it can empower refugees and their host communities in a win-win situation for all.” Under the guidance of the Global Compact on Refugees, UNHCR is expanding its partnerships with government agencies and the private sector, so as to share more equitably the responsibility for solving the global problem of forced displacement. Since 2019, UNHCR has established partnerships with a variety of Chinese companies. For example, Tencent and Tencent Foundation donated PPE items to support UNHCR’s COVID-19 response in 2020, and Transsion Holdings has been funding refugee children’s education in Africa since 2020.

In addition, UNHCR partners with Amity Foundation, Beijing New Sunshine Charity Foundation, China Biodiversity Conservation, and Green Development Foundation in launching different public fundraising and communication campaigns to introduce UNHCR’s global programs on Education, Cash-based Intervention, and Green Energy, offering avenues for Chinese citizens to learn about global displacement issues and take action to support humanitarian work. UNHCR is actively exploring opportunities to increase global procurement and direct purchasing of goods and services from Chinese suppliers. We are currently working to help Chinese suppliers understand UNHCR’s needs and procurement rules, so as to encourage them to register and bid through the UNGlobal Marketplace.

UNHCR China Office has been organizing various campaigns with Chinese universities, including the Model United Nations (MUN) Refugee Challenge, a poetry contest, the Youth for Refugees Art Contest, as well as virtual and in-person visits to our office. Youth in China have been learning about UNHCR’s mandate and actions, contributing their talents and strength to solving forcible displacement around the world.

Contact United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Address:

Case Postale 2500, CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt, Suisse, Geneva, Switzerland

Tel: 41 22 739 8111

Website: www.unhcr.org

UNHCR Representation in People’s Republic of China Address: 1-2-1, No.14 Liang Ma He Nan Lu, Beijing, China, 100600

Tel: 86 10 6532 6806 Fax: 86 10 6532 2704

Email: chibe@unhcr.org