Glossary

Deutsch: Hoher Flüchtlingskommissar der Vereinten Nationen / Español: Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Refugiados / Português: Alto Comissariado das Nações Unidas para os Refugiados / Français: Haut Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les Réfugiés / Italiano: Alto Commissariato delle Nazioni Unite per i Rifugiati

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights, and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people. While often associated with camps and land borders, the UNHCR plays a critical and complex role in the maritime context, addressing issues arising from dangerous sea crossings, asylum requests on the high seas, and the rights of people rescued at sea.

General Description

Established in 1950, the UNHCR operates under the mandate of the United Nations (UN) and the 1951 Refugee Convention. Its work at sea focuses on the principle of non-refoulement—the absolute prohibition against forcibly returning people to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. In the maritime environment, the UNHCR provides guidance to coastal states, navies, and commercial vessels regarding international law, ensuring that rescued individuals are safely disembarked in a place of safety ($\text{POS}$) and have access to fair asylum procedures. The organization works to prevent loss of life at sea by coordinating search and rescue (SAR) efforts and advocating for predictable disembarkation mechanisms.

Key Aspects in the Maritime Context

The UNHCR's involvement in maritime operations addresses several crucial legal and humanitarian challenges:

• Disembarkation and Place of Safety ($\text{POS}$): The UNHCR actively works with states to define and secure safe locations for disembarkation following rescue. International maritime law requires rescued persons to be delivered to a $\text{POS}$, which the UNHCR interprets as a place where the lives of the survivors are no longer threatened and where their basic human rights and safety are guaranteed.

• Non-Refoulement at Sea: The organization ensures that individuals intercepted or rescued by naval, coast guard, or commercial vessels are not returned to places where they would face persecution or danger, even when those operations occur outside territorial waters (on the high seas).

• Asylum Claims: The UNHCR provides guidance to ship captains and state authorities on handling individuals who express an intention to seek asylum or demonstrate refugee characteristics while still aboard a vessel. This includes ensuring they are not pressured to leave the ship before their legal status can be determined.

• Monitoring and Data: The UNHCR monitors key sea routes (such as the Central Mediterranean, the Bay of Bengal, and the Andaman Sea) to track displacement trends, record fatalities, and document human rights abuses against refugees and migrants at sea.

Examples of Maritime Application

• Rescue and Assistance: Providing materials (like food, water, and blankets) to rescue ships and facilitating the presence of UNHCR staff at disembarkation points to assess the needs of survivors.

• Guiding State Policy: Consulting with coastal nations on national legislation and regional agreements to establish burden-sharing mechanisms for reception and asylum processing, avoiding situations where ships are stranded at sea waiting for permission to dock.

• Training Commercial Crews: Developing training modules for commercial shipping captains and crews on search and rescue obligations and the proper procedures for handling asylum seekers found or rescued at sea.

• Preventing Pushbacks: Publicly condemning and intervening against illegal "pushback" practices, where states forcibly turn back boats carrying asylum seekers without processing their claims.

Similar Terms

• IMO (International Maritime Organization): The UN specialized agency responsible for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution; the $\text{IMO}$ works closely with the UNHCR on $\text{SAR}$ and disembarkation guidelines.

• Non-Refoulement: The fundamental principle of international refugee law that prohibits the return of refugees to a territory where they face serious threats.

• Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDPs): A broad term encompassing refugees, internally displaced persons, and others forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, or environmental factors.

• Stateless Person: An individual who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law; the UNHCR has a specific mandate to reduce statelessness.

• Search and Rescue (SAR): The operational phase of locating and providing assistance to people in distress at sea, often leading to the involvement of the UNHCR regarding safe disembarkation.

Summary

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the principal UN agency safeguarding the rights of refugees and displaced persons globally, with a crucial mandate in the maritime context. Its activities ensure adherence to the principle of non-refoulement and advocate for the safe and prompt disembarkation of rescued individuals at a Place of Safety ($\text{POS}$). The UNHCR provides legal guidance to maritime authorities, monitors dangerous sea crossings, and works to secure fair asylum procedures for people fleeing across international waters.

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