The State of the World's Refugees
Fifty Years of Humanitarian Action

Refugees and other displaced people are the victims of events beyond their control: persecution, armed conflict, and human rights violations. The problem remains a major concern of the international community in the 21st century. This publication examines the major refugee crises of the last 50 years and the changing nature of international responses to the problem of forced displacement. It describes the development of international refugee law and the establishment of institutions devoted to the protection of refugees and other displaced people. Looking at the challenges of the 1990s, it also examines the population shifts in the former Soviet region, the Kurdish exodus from northern Iraq following the Gulf war, the restrictive asylum policies in Europe and North America, and the recent crises in the Balkans, the Great Lakes region of Africa, East Timor and the Caucasus. Published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the publication also emphasizes the need to find lasting solutions to problems of forced displacement. Without human security, it argues, there can be no peace and stability.

A UNHCR Publication Book Information: Sales Number: E. 00.III.U.1 ISBN 0199241066 352pp. List price: $25.00 Special Academic Price: $14.00