UNHCR - Washington Regional Office

The UN refugee agency was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. It also has a mandate to help stateless people.

UNHCR’s Washington office opened in 1979. It became a regional office in 1997 and now covers the United States as well as 27 countries and overseas territories in the Caribbean.