Norwegian Refugee Council

Description

The Norwegian Refugee Council is a humanitarian, non-governmental organisation that protects the rights of people affected by displacement, including refugees and internally displaced persons forced to flee conflict, human rights violations, violence, climate change and natural disasters.

It is politically independent and has no religious affiliation, and works in dozens of countries across Africa, Asia, South America, Europe and the Middle East. Its core activities include emergency shelter and settlements, livelihoods and food security, water, sanitation and hygiene, education, protection from violence, and information, counselling and legal assistance to help displaced people claim their rights. It follows a rights-based approach combining emergency relief with support for longer-term recovery and durable solutions.

The organisation was established in 1946 as Europahjelpen to assist refugees in Europe after the Second World War, and took its current name in 1953. It is organised today as an independent private foundation with its headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and representation offices in Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, London and Washington, DC.

In 1998 it established the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre in Geneva, which analyses and reports on internal displacement worldwide. It also runs NORCAP, a standby roster of experts in humanitarian, development and peacebuilding work that has been in operation since 1991. Since 2009 the organisation has helped organise the Nansen Refugee Award with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and it received the Hilton Humanitarian Prize in 2022.