UNHCR Uses AI to Improve Support for Displaced People

Ahead of the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, UNHCR highlighted several projects showing how AI is already supporting humanitarian operations in countries facing displacement and humanitarian emergencies.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is expanding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced data analytics to help humanitarian teams respond more effectively to displacement crises, improve planning and make better use of limited resources while keeping human judgement at the centre of every decision.

AI Helps Humanitarian Teams Prepare Earlier

Ahead of the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, UNHCR highlighted several projects showing how AI is already supporting humanitarian operations in countries facing displacement and humanitarian emergencies. The initiatives are being developed through the agency's Innovation Incubator and Digital & Data Innovation Funds.

With the number of forcibly displaced and stateless people remaining close to record levels while humanitarian funding continues to tighten, UNHCR believes technology can help teams identify risks sooner and prepare more effectively. Hovig Etyemezian, UNHCR's Head of Innovation, said responsible use of AI allows humanitarian workers to improve planning, respond more quickly and stretch limited resources further without replacing the role of people on the ground.

One project in Somalia is using predictive analytics to examine possible patterns of internal displacement and refugee movements before they occur. In Ukraine, AI-supported modelling has helped analyse the potential return of displaced people, while similar approaches are being tested in East Africa, the Sahel, Latin America's migration corridors and regions increasingly affected by climate-related displacement.

Digital Tools Improve Daily Humanitarian Operations

UNHCR is also applying AI and advanced analytics to improve everyday humanitarian work. In Tanzania, predictive tools are helping health teams manage pharmacy supplies more efficiently, reducing the risk of medicine shortages. In Burundi, digital analytics are supporting better fuel management, while additional projects are improving the tracking of relief supplies throughout humanitarian supply chains to increase transparency and accountability.

Generative AI is also being tested to support refugee protection work. One tool helps legal teams analyse refugee-related laws and policies across more than 200 countries, allowing them to review legislation more quickly and consistently for refugees, internally displaced people and stateless communities. Other AI-supported systems are being developed to identify delays and pressure points within national asylum procedures, including refugee status determination processes. By highlighting bottlenecks earlier, the technology could help governments and humanitarian organisations improve planning where asylum systems are facing growing demand.

Human Rights and Human Oversight Remain Essential

UNHCR has stressed that every AI project is developed alongside refugee-led organisations and displaced communities to ensure technology responds to real needs rather than replacing local knowledge and experience. The agency believes meaningful participation by affected communities is essential for creating practical and trusted solutions.

At the same time, UNHCR recognises that AI has important limitations. Incomplete data, algorithmic bias, rapidly changing crises and weak digital infrastructure can all reduce the reliability of AI systems in humanitarian settings. For that reason, the agency says it only introduces AI tools when they are supported by evidence, meet ethical standards and are appropriate for operational use, with human verification remaining part of every deployment.

UNHCR also warns that AI can create new risks for displaced people through misinformation, manipulated content and gender-based deepfakes, all of which can undermine access to accurate information and essential services. As the Refugee Convention marks its 75th anniversary this year, the agency says technological innovation must continue to uphold human rights, transparency, accountability and the dignity of displaced communities while ensuring that decisions affecting people's lives always remain in human hands.