UNHCR’s Lifeline: How Global Refugee Protection Begins, Works, and Endures

As Patrick Eba, deputy director in UNHCR’s Division of International Protection, puts it, “Ensuring that refugees have access to food, shelter and health care is a matter of life and death.”

In times of war, persecution, and widespread violence, the very governments meant to protect their citizens often become powerless — or even complicit — in the suffering. As a result, people facing mortal danger are forced to leave their homes, sometimes overnight, in search of safety and dignity elsewhere. These individuals are not merely migrants; under international law, they are refugees, entitled to protection from the moment they flee across a border.

Refugees often arrive in foreign lands traumatized, dispossessed, and vulnerable. While the legal obligation to protect them falls on host countries, this responsibility is rarely easy — especially for nations struggling with limited resources or underdeveloped asylum systems. That’s where the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) plays a critical, life-saving role. With 75 years of experience in refugee protection and humanitarian support, UNHCR coordinates with governments and local organizations to uphold the rights and dignity of people forced to flee.

Where Protection Begins: At the Border

Protection starts not in camps or shelters, but the moment a refugee reaches a border seeking safety. International law dictates that people fleeing conflict or persecution cannot be turned away, arbitrarily detained, or returned to a place where their lives are at risk.

When crises erupt, UNHCR swiftly mobilizes its staff and partners to border areas to ensure safe passage. Their teams advocate with state authorities to keep borders open, register new arrivals, and help them obtain documentation proving their refugee status. This paperwork is not just administrative — it’s the key to accessing health care, shelter, food, and education.

For example, during the early days of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, UNHCR was present at border crossings across Europe, supporting exhausted families like the Ukrainian woman photographed carrying her children into Hungary. Each such story represents thousands who found a safer future thanks to protection that began at a border.

Meeting Urgent Needs: The Essentials of Survival

Once physical safety is secured, the next crucial step is to address refugees’ basic needs. As Patrick Eba, deputy director in UNHCR’s Division of International Protection, puts it, “Ensuring that refugees have access to food, shelter and health care is a matter of life and death.”

UNHCR coordinates the delivery of emergency supplies, sets up temporary shelters, and establishes health services. In many crisis zones, these interventions prevent the spread of disease and malnutrition — and help stabilize communities reeling from displacement.

Safeguarding the Most Vulnerable Among the Displaced

Every refugee experiences profound disruption, but certain groups face even greater risks. Children, people with disabilities, elderly individuals, survivors of sexual violence, and those from marginalized ethnic or gender groups often require specialized attention.

For children, being separated from their families or exposed to trafficking and abuse is a common danger. UNHCR partners with national child protection services to trace and reunite families and ensure care. In 2024, for instance, Spain’s Canary Islands saw the arrival of some 6,000 unaccompanied minors, for whom UNHCR provided protection, shelter, and care.

Education is another pillar of protection. Schools offer structure and safety, shielding children from forced labor, early marriage, and radicalization. UNHCR supports national education systems to include refugee children and supplies resources like school materials, trained teachers, and repaired infrastructure. Children with special needs, like Mohammad Hassan, a 13-year-old Syrian refugee with hearing and speech impairments living in Jordan’s Za’atari camp, receive specialized educational services to help them thrive.

Safe spaces for women and girls offer survivors of sexual violence places to recover, connect, and build new skills. In communities where resources allow, UNHCR also conducts gender-based violence prevention sessions for men and boys to address harmful norms and behaviors.

Pathways to Durable Solutions: A Future Beyond Survival

While protection starts at the border, its ultimate goal is long-term safety, stability, and dignity. UNHCR works toward three durable solutions for refugees:

1. Voluntary Return: When it’s safe, many refugees choose to go home. UNHCR helps them make informed decisions by monitoring conditions, offering information, and sometimes facilitating "go-and-see" visits. In 2023, over 1.1 million refugees returned to their home countries with UNHCR’s support.

2. Resettlement in a Third Country: For refugees facing ongoing danger or unable to return home, resettlement to a third country offers a new beginning. Though available to a limited few, this pathway can be life-changing. Countries offering resettlement allow individuals to rebuild their lives in peace and contribute to new communities.

3. Integration in Host Countries: For most refugees, immediate return or resettlement may not be possible. UNHCR helps them integrate into host societies by advocating for access to legal residency, employment, education, and healthcare. Refugees who earn the right to remain long-term often become vital contributors to their new communities — like José Sánchez, who rebuilt his life as a barber in Ecuador after fleeing Venezuela.

The Cost of Inaction: When Protection Fails

Protection is not a given. It requires global solidarity, sustained funding, and political will. Recent global funding shortfalls have already forced UNHCR to cut or suspend essential services in multiple countries. Biometric registration of new asylum-seekers — a critical tool for access to aid — has been halted in some areas. Support services for survivors of sexual violence, women, and unaccompanied children have also been reduced. Many refugee children have lost access to schooling, and fewer refugees are being resettled or supported to return home.

These cuts have a direct and dangerous impact. Without documentation, refugees can be exploited. Without safe housing or healthcare, their survival is jeopardized. Without education or employment, their future is bleak.

As Eba warns, “Protection saves lives. It ensures that people can be safe. It ensures they can live in dignity. But to do this important protection work, UNHCR needs the continued support of the whole international community … This is what global solidarity is about.”

Protection Is a Human Imperative

Refugee protection is more than humanitarian charity — it is a legal and moral obligation grounded in international law. It begins at the moment of flight and continues through every stage of displacement until people can return home or rebuild their lives in peace elsewhere.

With the number of forcibly displaced people at record highs, the work of UNHCR and its partners is more essential than ever. Every dollar contributed, every policy enacted, and every effort to include refugees in host communities makes a difference. When protection is upheld, lives are not only saved — they are given back their future.