Setting up a tent at Farachana camp to receive refugees relocated from the border area. The camp, located 55 kms from the border, will eventually be able to house 12,000 refugees. ©UNHCR/H.Caux

The UN Refugee Agency remains responsible for refugees and other displaced people until a solution can be found.

In fact, of all the agencies which work so hard to bring relief to people who are driven from their homes by war and persecution, UNHCR is the only international organization with a global mandate to find lasting solutions to the plight of refugees.

There are three “durable solutions” that UNHCR seeks for refugees.

1. Repatriation: Most refugees yearn to return home. UNHCR makes this possible whenever it is safe to do so. This year we are helping hundreds of thousands of refugees to return to countries like Afghanistan, Angola, Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka. Returning home is, of course, the preferred solution for most refugees.
   
2. Integration: In some cases, refugees can’t return home. When this happens, UNHCR works with the communities and governments where refugees have found temporary shelter to find ways to integrate refugees into their new countries. The vast majority of refugees are hosted by the world’s poorest countries. These host communities struggle when refugees arrive, as water and food are often in short supply. UNHCR supports these communities as they open their arms to help their new guests settle permanently.
   
3. Resettlement: Some refugees cannot safely return home and can’t stay where they are. They too, deserve a place to call home. Starting over in a totally new environment is never easy. But UNHCR works with countries on all continents to find places where refugees can resettle permanently and make contributions to their new countries.

UNHCR exists because refugees need help, and our work doesn’t stop until a solution is found for each and every refugee.