We protect those displaced in the world’s most dangerous conflict areas

Not since the aftermath of World War Two have there been so many people who can’t return home. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is there for people who have been forced to flee.

South Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Right now, there are close to 70 million people around the world who have been forced to flee their homes. That’s more than any time since the aftermath of World War Two. In addition to those who are forced to flee from violence and conflict, millions of people have been displaced by climate change and disasters.

Why are there so many displaced people?

There are two main reasons why there are so many displaced people right now. One is Syria, a single disaster that has displaced over 13 million people. Those displaced by the war in Syria live inside Syria, in neighbouring countries and in Europe. NRC provides emergency assistance to people inside Syria and in neighbouring countries.

In Persian, the name Badghis means “Where the wind starts”. The province lies north-west in Afghanistan and extends as far north as the Sarakhs desert. Water shortages, droughts and conflicts are causing many people to flee their homes. Here, people from Badghis finally receive proper tents. They are donated by ECHO and delivered by NRC personnel. Photo: Enayatullah Azad/NRC

The second reason is the long-standing conflicts where there are still no political solutions. Afghanistan is an example of that. Here too, it is important for NRC to maintain an active presence. We want to find solutions for those who have been waiting for peace and security for decades.

Nearly nine million people

Our personnel are recruited locally, and we have a total of 14,000 humanitarian aid workers. Apart from working in Ukraine, we are helping displaced people in around 30 countries outside Europe.

In 2017 we helped nearly nine million people.

Judith Palacio, an NRC legal adviser, meets a former FARC soldier in a demobilisation camp located in the western region of Chocó in Colombia. Photo: Ana Karina Delgado Diaz/NRC

We have long experience and the necessary knowledge to read and understand the situations. Our people are able to reach out to refugees and displaced people who are in the most remote and hard-to-reach places. We bring emergency aid to places despite ongoing security challenges, logistics challenges, difficult accessibility or restrictions from local authorities.

It’s March 2017 and a man from NRC helps two women carry a sack of white maize. Drought is ravaging Ngop in the state of Unity, South Sudan. Here, NRC distributes food from the World Food Programme to more than 7,100 people. Ngop is, at this time, on the verge of a famine disaster. Photo: Albert Gonzalez Farran/NRC

We hold the standard of neutrality high. We know how to negotiate with parties in conflict to gain permission to enter conflict areas and effectively ensure that help reaches those who need it most.

We are there when governments fall short

The conflicts in the world have changed over the last decades. Today, there are nearly no wars between countries, almost all wars are civil wars.

When the conflicts are inside a country or parts of a country, people are left in a weakened position because they don’t receive international protection. When governments are no longer able to protect their citizens, the help that NRC provides becomes all the more important.

Every day, thousands of people have to pass through the checkpoint located between government-controlled and non-government-controlled areas in Stanytsia Luhanska in Ukraine. People walk several kilometres through no man’s land and then wait three to four hours on each side. Halyna and her daughter Mariia, 3, tell NRC’s legal adviser, Violetta Shemet, about the difficult living conditions. Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/NRC

NRC provides people around the world with protection, food, clean water, improved sanitary conditions and a roof over their heads.

We take a strategic approach. Initially, it is about getting people the help they need to survive. Later, long-term food security, schooling and legal advice are necessary for people to have a future.

In Honduras, people are displaced by violence. NRC’s Elsy Aleman is working to provide people with legal assistance and advice, whether they need protection or they are deported from the United States. Photo: Ana Karina Delgado/NRC

NRC also contributes through NORCAP, our global provider of expertise to the humanitarian, development and peacebuilding sectors.

In collaboration with other organisations and national authorities, NORCAP works to protect lives, rights and livelihoods. NORCAP consists of over 1,000 women and men from all over the world. They can be sent out at short notice and contribute to a more efficient and coordinated response in various crises and conflicts.

Great trust

Never has there been a bigger need for our help than now. 

The Norwegian Refugee Council was founded in 1946, in a Europe that lay in ruins after World War Two. Today, more than 70 years later, we are still standing up for people forced to flee.

Now as before – without compromise.