United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Also known as the UN Refugee Agency, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),  is the world's leading organization assisting and protecting people that are forced to flee their homes. Formed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1950, UNHCR has helped an estimated 50 million refugees restart their lives. The agency protects refugees in times of emergency and crisis — and supports them in the months or years that follow — by providing 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. The agency works to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge, having fled violence, persecution, war, or disaster at home.