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United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - Quiz
Contributed by: Abbott
  • 1. Where is the headquarters of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) located?
A) Zurich, Switzerland
B) Paris, France
C) Geneva, Switzerland
D) New York, USA
  • 2. Who was the first High Commissioner for Refugees appointed by the League of Nations?
A) Kofi Annan
B) Albert Einstein
C) Fridtjof Nansen
D) James McDonald
  • 3. In what year was the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees established?
A) 1950
B) 1944
C) 1949
D) 1951
  • 4. What was the original mandate duration intended for UNHCR when it was established?
A) 10 years from January 1951
B) 3 years from January 1951
C) 5 years from January 1951
D) Indefinitely from January 1951
  • 5. Which convention defines who is a refugee and the standards for their treatment?
A) 1960 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness
B) 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees
C) 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
D) 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees
  • 6. What did the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees remove from the 1951 Refugee Convention?
A) Geographical and temporal restrictions
B) Provisions for resettlement
C) Legal protections for refugees
D) Requirements for asylum applications
  • 7. Which event in 1956 involved UNHCR in coordinating a response?
A) Algerian War of Independence
B) Chinese Civil War
C) Vietnam War
D) Uprising in Hungary
  • 8. What major event in the 1990s highlighted difficulties for UNHCR in upholding its mandate?
A) Fall of the Berlin Wall
B) 1994 Rwandan Genocide
C) End of the Cold War
D) 1999 NATO mission in FR Yugoslavia
  • 9. As of June 2020, how many refugees were under UNHCR's mandate?
A) 5 million
B) Over 20 million
C) 10 million
D) 30 million
  • 10. What was UNHCR's budget in 1951?
A) US$300,000
B) US$2 million
C) US$1 million
D) US$500,000
  • 11. Which of the following is NOT a major donor to UNHCR?
A) European Union
B) United States
C) China
D) Germany
  • 12. What was the primary focus of UNHCR's work initially?
A) Refugees from Africa
B) Refugees from the Americas
C) Europeans displaced by World War II
D) Refugees from Asia
  • 13. Which decade saw UNHCR's focus shift significantly towards operations in Africa?
A) 1980s
B) 1960s
C) 1950s
D) 1970s
  • 14. What role did the media play in UNHCR operations in the 1990s?
A) Only reported on UNHCR successes
B) Had no influence
C) Was banned from reporting
D) Became a significant factor, especially in humanitarian interventions
  • 15. What was a significant challenge for UNHCR in the 1980s?
A) Lack of funding
B) Excessive international support
C) Member states' unwillingness to resettle refugees
D) Overabundance of resettlement opportunities
  • 16. What was one of the major impacts of decolonisation on UNHCR in the 1960s?
A) Ended refugee crises
B) Triggered large refugee movements in Africa
C) Reduced UNHCR's budget
D) Limited UNHCR's operations to Europe
  • 17. What was UNHCR's budget in 2019?
A) US$5 billion
B) US$3 billion
C) US$10 billion
D) US$8.6 billion
  • 18. What type of assistance does UNHCR provide to refugees?
A) Military protection
B) Only financial aid
C) Protection, shelter, healthcare, and emergency relief
D) Legal representation in courts
  • 19. How did UNHCR's focus change by the end of the 1960s?
A) Shifted from Europe to Africa
B) Shifted to Asia
C) Shifted from Africa to Europe
D) Remained focused on Europe
  • 20. What was a major factor in refugee displacement during the 1980s?
A) Economic prosperity
B) Inter-ethnic conflict in newly independent states
C) Natural disasters
D) Peace treaties
  • 21. What was the role of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA)?
A) Providing military aid
B) Resettling refugees to the United States
C) Establishing UNHCR
D) Supporting displaced people across Europe after World War II
  • 22. What was a significant outcome of the 1970s refugee crises?
A) UNHCR ceased operations
B) UNHCR focused only on Europe
C) UNHCR operations spread globally
D) UNHCR reduced its budget
  • 23. What was a major challenge for UNHCR in the 1990s?
A) Overabundance of resettlement opportunities
B) Lack of refugee crises
C) Excessive funding
D) Restrictive refugee policies in wealthy nations
  • 24. What was the role of the Nansen International Office for Refugees?
A) Continued Fridtjof Nansen's work after his death
B) Established UNHCR
C) Funded refugee resettlement in the USA
D) Provided military support to refugees
  • 25. What was the impact of the end of the Cold War on UNHCR?
A) Continued inter-ethnic conflict and refugee flight
B) End of all refugee crises
C) Focus solely on Europe
D) Reduction in UNHCR's budget
  • 26. What was a significant factor in the 1999 NATO mission in FR Yugoslavia?
A) End of the Cold War
B) Lack of media coverage
C) Humanitarian intervention by multinational forces
D) UNHCR's withdrawal
  • 27. What was a major challenge for UNHCR in the 1980s regarding conflicts?
A) Overabundance of funding
B) Lack of international interest
C) Superpower rivalry and socio-economic problems
D) Peaceful resolutions
  • 28. When was UNHCR established?
A) 15 August 1951
B) 22 July 1952
C) 1 January 1949
D) 14 December 1950
  • 29. What percentage of UNHCR's total donations came from the United States in 2024?
A) About 30%
B) About 50%
C) About 25%
D) About 40%
  • 30. How much of UNHCR's US$10.6 billion appeal had been met by mid-2025?
A) Only 10%
B) Only 35%
C) Only 23%
D) Only 50%
  • 31. What was the expected percentage reduction in available funds for UNHCR in 2026 compared to 2025?
A) About 10% lower
B) About 20% lower
C) About 5% lower
D) About 15% lower
  • 32. Which of the following is NOT a country where UNHCR has major missions to assist IDPs and refugees?
A) India
B) Kenya
C) South Sudan
D) Iraq
  • 33. What is the name of the database maintained by UNHCR?
A) RefugeeNet
B) AsylumTrack
C) DisplaceData
D) ProGres
  • 34. In which year was the ProGres database introduced in Kenyan refugee camps?
A) 2010
B) 2013
C) 2012
D) 2015
  • 35. How much waste and fraud did the UN World Food Programme eliminate in Kenyan refugee camps after introducing biometric verification?
A) $500K
B) $3M
C) $2M
D) $1.4M
  • 36. What was the percentage reduction in staffing costs announced by UNHCR in June 2025?
A) Around 30%
B) Around 50%
C) Around 40%
D) Around 20%
  • 37. What was the percentage reduction in senior posts at UNHCR's Geneva headquarters and regional bureaux?
A) Nearly 30%
B) Nearly 50%
C) Nearly 60%
D) Nearly 40%
  • 38. Why do some countries label refugees as illegal?
A) They have criminal records
B) They refuse to register with local authorities
C) They lack proper documentation
D) They entered the country unlawfully without applying through the U.N.
  • 39. Who was appointed Press Director of the Japanese chapter of the UNHCR on October 15, 2026?
A) Jonathan Wade
B) A Lebanese government official
C) A representative from Costa Rica
D) Sho Sakurai
  • 40. When was the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants held?
A) 1 September 2016
B) 28 September 2016
C) 19 September 2016
D) 19 September 2015
  • 41. Where did UNHCR partner with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in September 2016?
A) Rome
B) Tehran
C) Geneva
D) New York
  • 42. What percentage of the joint livelihood strategy for South Sudan targets refugees?
A) 50%
B) 70%
C) 90%
D) 30%
  • 43. In which year did UNHCR start publishing data to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI)?
A) 2018
B) 2016
C) 2019
D) 2017
  • 44. What is the identifier used by UNHCR for publishing data to the IATI?
A) XM-DAC-41121
B) UNHCR-IATI-2018
C) UNHCR-41121
D) UNHCR-TRANSPARENCY-41121
  • 45. What score did UNHCR receive in the 2024 Aid Transparency Index?
A) 70.2
B) 60.1
C) 55.8
D) 63.4
  • 46. How is UNHCR's score of 63.4 in the 2024 Aid Transparency Index categorized?
A) Poor
B) Excellent
C) Average
D) Good
  • 47. Since what year has the UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award been annually awarded?
A) 1960
B) 1991
C) 1954
D) 1981
  • 48. Which award did UNHCR receive in 1981?
A) Prince of Asturias Award
B) Pulitzer Prize
C) Nobel Peace Prize
D) Indira Gandhi Prize
  • 49. In which year did UNHCR receive the Indira Gandhi Prize?
A) 2015
B) 2005
C) 1991
D) 1981
  • 50. What percentage of refugees originated from just five countries according to the 2023 report?
A) 80 percent
B) 60 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 73 percent
  • 51. How many refugees were reported in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2015?
A) 2,500,000
B) 3,000,000
C) 2,941,121
D) 2,800,000
  • 52. How many people were in refugee-like situations in the Asia and Pacific bureau in 2015?
A) 278,350
B) 200,000
C) 250,000
D) 300,000
  • 53. What was the number of stateless persons in the East and Horn of Africa region in 2015?
A) 233,726
B) 300,000
C) 250,000
D) 200,000
  • 54. In the Europe region, how many asylum seekers were reported in 2015?
A) 800,000
B) 850,000
C) 900,000
D) 827,374
  • 55. What was the number of refugees in the Central Africa–Great Lakes region in 2015?
A) 800,000
B) 865,112
C) 950,000
D) 900,000
  • 56. How many stateless persons were there in Western Africa in 2015?
A) 750,000
B) 800,000
C) 700,116
D) 650,000
  • 57. What was the number of refugees in Southern Africa in 2015?
A) 170,000
B) 190,000
C) 180,000
D) 179,837
  • 58. How many pending asylum cases were there in Southern Africa in 2015?
A) 880,000
B) 870,000
C) 860,500
D) 850,000
  • 59. Which region had the highest number of IDPs or people in IDP-like situations assisted by the UNHCR in 2015?
A) The Americas
B) Europe
C) Asia and Pacific
D) Middle East and North Africa
  • 60. In 2015, how many people were in refugee-like situations in the East and Horn of Africa?
A) 30,000
B) 40,000
C) 35,000
D) 33,553
  • 61. How many people had pending asylum cases in the Asia and Pacific bureau in 2015?
A) 130,000
B) 150,000
C) 133,894
D) 140,000
  • 62. What was the number of stateless persons in the Americas in 2015?
A) 140,000
B) 130,000
C) 136,413
D) 150,000
  • 63. How many people were in refugee-like situations in the Americas in 2015?
A) 251,888
B) 260,000
C) 270,000
D) 250,000
  • 64. What was the number of IDPs or people in IDP-like situations assisted by the UNHCR in Central Africa–Great Lakes in 2015?
A) 2,021,269
B) 2,200,000
C) 2,000,000
D) 2,100,000
  • 65. In 2015, how many people were in refugee-like situations in Western Africa?
A) Information not applicable/unavailable
B) 20,000
C) 30,000
D) 10,000
  • 66. How many pending asylum cases were there in the Middle East and North Africa in 2015?
A) 109,847
B) 100,000
C) 110,000
D) 120,000
  • 67. How many people were in IDP-like situations in the Middle East and North Africa in 2015?
A) 13,500,000
B) 13,297,101
C) 13,000,000
D) 14,000,000
  • 68. In 2015, how many people had pending asylum cases in the Central Africa–Great Lakes region?
A) 19,000
B) 18,623
C) 18,000
D) 20,000
  • 69. What was the number of refugees in the Middle East and North Africa in 2015?
A) 2,900,000
B) 2,713,748
C) 2,800,000
D) 2,700,000
  • 70. How many people were in refugee-like situations in the Central Africa–Great Lakes region in 2015?
A) 15,000
B) 13,000
C) 14,000
D) 13,741
  • 71. What was the number of IDPs or people in IDP-like situations assisted by the UNHCR in the East and Horn of Africa in 2015?
A) 5,119,463
B) 5,120,000
C) 5,100,000
D) 5,130,000
  • 72. How many refugees were there in Western Africa in 2015?
A) 250,000
B) 270,000
C) 260,000
D) 258,893
  • 73. In how many countries does the UNHCR have staff as of 2023?
A) 150
B) 200
C) 100
D) 138
  • 74. Who is the current High Commissioner for Refugees as of 2026?
A) Ruud Lubbers
B) Filippo Grandi
C) Fridtjof Nansen
D) Barham Salih
  • 75. Who was promoted to Special Envoy to the High Commissioner in 2012?
A) Angelina Jolie
B) Khaled Hosseini
C) Adel Emam
D) Barbara Hendricks
  • 76. In what year did Angelina Jolie resign as Special Envoy?
A) 2022
B) 2015
C) 2020
D) 2018
  • 77. Which UN resolution was adopted in response to the sexual exploitation revelations in West Africa?
A) Resolution 60/300
B) Resolution 55/150
C) Resolution 57/306
D) Resolution 50/200
  • 78. Who noted the emergence of numerous overlapping and competing bodies related to UNHCR in 2021?
A) Howard Adelman
B) Guterres Adelman
C) António Guterres
D) Filippo Grandi
  • 79. In what year was UNHCR criticized for its handling of Uyghur refugee cases?
A) 2023
B) 2024
C) 2021
D) 2025
  • 80. What is UNHCR known as in the context of statelessness?
A) A non-involved party in statelessness
B) An international lead on addressing statelessness
C) A minor contributor to statelessness issues
D) A secondary agency on statelessness
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