The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to seek and enjoy asylum, without discrimination. This means that no matter who you are or where you are from, you have a right to seek and enjoy safety from war, violence and persecution. To find sanctuary and hope away from home. However, not everyone seeking safety around the globe is currently able to find it. Far from being able to find the shelter so desperately needed, many men, women and children today face dangerous, life-threatening journeys and unacceptable harm. They find themselves pushed back towards danger, unwelcomed, vulnerable and left in limbo for years without hope or help.

We are witnessing increased hostility, unfair treatment and injustice that is putting the lives of many at risk and threatening the right to seek safety for too many people around the world. We cannot stand by and watch this happen. As the world’s leading organisation protecting the rights of those forced to flee, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency is calling for urgent action now to help ensure that people fleeing war, violence and persecution can access safe territory, can be swiftly granted refugee status where needed, can live with dignity and can enjoy their rights like healthcare, education and jobs - together with the communities hosting them.

We call on world leaders to honor their legal and moral obligations to help ensure people seeking asylum from war, violence or persecution, can do so without discrimination. We call on world leaders to act together. We call on world leaders to share responsibility so that countries hosting the vast majority of the world’s refugees are supported in fulfilling their longstanding commitments to protect, include and help refugees. These are largely countries with low and middle incomes that despite facing economic challenges of their own, have been honoring the right to seek asylum for decades, keeping their borders open to those who have been forced to flee. They need increased support and solidarity.

UNHCR’s Hope Away from Home Campaign is calling for world leaders to act together and with solidarity to prioritize:

Access to safe territory and preventing people from facing violence or dying along the routes.
Adequate conditions and treatment for refugees in line with human rights, dignity and inclusion.
Accession to the Refugee Convention, lifting reservations and establishing efficient asylum procedures.
Increased access to durable solutions, including resettlement.
Solidarity and support to countries and communities hosting large refugee populations.

Join our movement of solidarity to give hope to all those seeking safety across the world and UNHCR will deliver your urgent message to world leaders and decision makers at the Global Refugee Forum in December, a key moment where the international community will come together to pledge support for refugees and the countries and communities that host them.

For more information, please visit https://www.unrefugees.org.uk/take-action/hope-away-from-home/