Refugees International

Refugees International is a humanitarian organization supporting refugees (including internally displaced people) and stateless people. It publishes annual reports, as well as approximately twenty-five field reports throughout the year on refugee issues, as well as comments on international aid issues around the world.^[1][2][3] Some current notable Board members include Queen Noor, John Danforth, Matt Dillon, Hadeel Ibrahim, and Sam Waterston. It is based in Washington, D.C. with offices also located in New York, and in the winter of 2011 an office will be opened in London.

Priorities & Campaigns

According to its mission statement, "Refugees International advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises."

Refugees, Peacekeeping, Statelessness

According to its website, Refugees International was started in 1979 as a citizens’ movement to protect Indochinese refugees. Each year, Refugees International conducts 20 to 25 field missions to identify displaced people’s needs for basic services such as food, water, health care, housing, access to education and protection from harm. Based on their field-based knowledge of humanitarian emergencies, they successfully challenge policy makers and aid agencies to improve the lives of displaced people around the world and frequently defend the strategic benefits of a continuation of US funding for foreign aid most recently in the 2011 budget debates.^[4][5]They currently focus their work on Iraq, South Sudan, Sudan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Libya, Burma, Haiti and Colombia.

Leverage

According to their website, "RI's advocacy generates increases in resources and policy changes by governments and UN agencies that improve conditions for refugees and displaced people. RI does not accept any government or UN funding. Rather, RI leverages donations from individuals, foundations and corporations."

In January 2010 RI announced that former U.S. Congress member Dan Glickman would be appointed in April as its new president, after serving as Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Glickman succeeded the late Kenneth Bacon, who became president in 2001 and led the organization until he died in August 2009. Glickman resigned and Michel Gabaudan replaced him as current president in September of 2010. Prior to his role with RI, Michel served as the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) Regional Representative for the United States and the Caribbean. Michel’s career with UNHCR spanned more than 25 years, including international service in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific. He then went on to become head of UNHCR’s funding and donor relations service at headquarters in Geneva. Between 2001 and 2004, Michel was the Regional Representative in Australia. Prior to coming to Washington, he served as the Regional Representative for UNHCR in Beijing.

References

External links

• Official website