CONTENTS
CONTENTS
Table of contents
THEMATIC CHAPTERS
The Global Report presents the work carried out by UNHCR in 2021 to protect and improve the lives of tens
of millions of people of concern – refugees and asylum seekers, returnees, internally displaced people,
stateless persons and others of concern. It highlights the year’s achievements, as well as challenges faced
by the organization and its partners, in responding to multiple life-threatening crises and ever-growing
humanitarian needs.
OVERVIEW
4
8
Europe
13%
Middle East
and North
Africa
17%
West and
Central
Africa
Asia and
the Pacific
12%
11%
East and Horn
of Africa and
the Great
Lakes
The
Americas
18%
20%
10
12
Southern
Africa
9%
18
56
56
61
62
64
65
66
67
68
71
12 UNHCR GLOBAL REPORT 2021
UNHCR GLOBAL REPORT 2021 13
73
78
Foreword by the High Commissioner
UNHCR in 2021
Key data and achievements
Map of populations of concern
Global Strategic Priorities
Priority areas of concern for UNHCR in 2021
Funding UNHCR’s programmes
Global initiatives
Responding to COVID-19
Continuing UNHCR’s transformation in 2021:
The Global Compact on Refugees
Strategic partnerships and coordination
UN development system reform
Human resources
Results-based management
Risk management in UNHCR
Prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual
harassment in 2021
Responding to situations of internal displacement
Climate action
REGIONAL SUMMARIES
82
90
98
106
114
124
132
East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes
Southern Africa
West and Central Africa
The Americas
Asia and the Pacific
Europe
The Middle East and North Africa
140
142
144
146
148
Safeguarding fundamental rights
164
166
168
170
172
174
176
Responding with life-saving support
Legal protection frameworks
Registration, documentation and identity management
Identifying international protection needs
Refugee protection and migration, including responses
to mixed movements
150 Preventing and responding to statelessness
152 Community-based protection
154 Accountability to affected people
156 Child protection, youth engagement and empowerment
158 Gender equality
160 Protecting persons with disabilities and older persons
162 Protecting LGBTIQ+ people in forced displacement
178
180
182
184
186
Emergency preparedness and response
Global supply management
Cash assistance
Public health
Mental health and psychosocial support
Gender-based violence:
prevention, risk mitigation and response
Nutrition and food security
Water, sanitation and hygiene
Shelter and settlements
Building better futures
Key partnerships, engagement with development actors
and processes
188 Access to quality education
190 Livelihoods and economic inclusion
192 Energy and environmental protection
194 Supporting the urban displaced
196 Local integration and other local solutions
198 Resettlement and complementary pathways
200 Voluntary repatriation
202 Global communications
204 A letter to world leaders
ANNEXES
644,500
28,600
in 2021 (+8%)
per month (+8%)
page views
sessions/visits
220,700
documents
downloaded
(-9%)
2,857
documents
published
(+48%)
Note: Page views is the total number of pages viewed, whereas visits/sessions are the number of times a user actively engages with the
website. All numbers have been rounded.
2 UNHCR GLOBAL REPORT 2021
206 Members of UNHCR’s Executive Committee and States Parties
to the Refugee and Statelessness Conventions
208 Acronyms
The Global Focus website is UNHCR’s main operational reporting platform for donors. Regularly updated, it complements
and augments information in the Global Report with greater detail on UNHCR operations, data on key operational themes
and objectives, and in-depth information on UNHCR’s budgets, funding and expenditure. It also contains a glossary of
technical terms used in this publication.
UNHCR GLOBAL REPORT 2021 3