This document provides an overview of UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) including: - UNHCR was established after WWII to respond to refugees in Europe. It currently assists refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, and stateless people. - UNHCR's mandate is to provide protection and seek durable solutions such as repatriation, resettlement, and local integration. - UNHCR faces challenges in accurately knowing refugee populations, assessing refugee needs, and sharing information with partners. Technology can help address these challenges.

1. ISCRAM 2013
Kimberly Roberson
UNHCR

2. Overview
• UNHCR – mini facts and figures
• UNHCR – our context and challenges
• What do we do with technology
• What we need technology to do

3. Inappropriate environments
Is what is possible what is needed?

4. United Nation High Commissioner for
Refugees
tablished post WWII to respond to refugees in
urope
opulations of concern: Refugees, asylum seekers
ternally displaced, and stateless persons
efugees - 10.5 million
ylum seekers – 950,000
ternally displaced persons - 17.7 million
ateless persons - 3.5 million

10. UNHCR’s Mandate
• Provide Protection
– Legal and physical
– Working with states
– Working with NGOs
– Working with communities

11. UNHCR’s Mandate
• Seek durable solutions
– Repatriation
– Resettlement
– Local integration

12. What do we do?
• Registration
– proGres
– Individual verses household
– Ration cards

13. Biometrics
• Cheating verses protection?

15. Challenge
• Knowing how many people there are?
Use of satellite images to asses populations
http://data.unhcr.org/portfolio/2011/09/satellit
e-analysis/

16. Challenge
• Knowing what are the needs
– Working with populations
– Getting the balance right between quantitative
information and qualitative

20. Challenge
• Sharing information with others
– Donors
– Partners
– Governments

22. http://buzzchart.net/viz/
http://data.unhcr.org/

24. Challenge
• Accessing
– Getting there
– Finding the right people

27. Andrew S. Grove. Grove fled from his hometown
Budapest, Hungary in 1956 and settled in New York as a
refugee in 1957. In 1968, he participated in the founding
of Intel Corporation.
Philip Emeagwali, spent years of
his childhood in a refugee camp
Some refugees you might know

28. Questions

30. Thank you