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Women’s Refugee Commission

Women’s Refugee Commission

Since 1989, the Women’s Refugee Commission (formerly Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children) has focused the world’s attention on the particular needs of refugee and internally displaced women, children and young people.

Our research and advocacy lead to life-changing improvements for this vulnerable, yet resilient, population. Our work is crucial because:

  • Four out of five of the world’s 40 million displaced people are women, children and youth.
  • Women and adolescent girls are especially vulnerable to exploitation, rape and abuse.
  • Children and young people, who make up approximately 50 percent of all refugees, often miss out on years of education and are targets of abuse, abduction and military recruitment.
  • Women, children and young people who seek asylum in the U.S. are often held in detention, where they may be subjected to inhumane conditions and denied access to legal representation.

For 20 years, the Women’s Refugee Commission has identified cutting-edge issues and conducted critical on-the-ground research—investigating and proposing solutions to the seemingly intractable problems faced by women and children uprooted by war or other crises. We work in consultation with refugee and internally displaced women, children and young people to ensure that their voices are heard. We change lives by:

  • Identifying and documenting, through research and field visits, the widely overlooked problems that adversely affect refugee women, children and young people;
  • Developing guidelines, manuals and other practical tools to assist the humanitarian community in changing practice on the ground;
  • Advocating to governments, the UN and aid organizations to make changes in laws, policies and practice that bring measurable improvements to the lives of refugees; including pushing for implementation of SC Resolution 1325,1820, 1888 and 1889;
  • Giving voice to refugees and displaced people themselves so that they can realize their aspirations, including getting an education and supporting their families.

The Women’s Refugee Commission’s mission is to improve the lives and defend the rights of refugee women and children, including the internally displaced, returnees and asylum seekers. Our vision is of a world in which refugee, internally displaced, returnee and asylum-seeking women and children: live in safety and dignity; have access to the services and resources they need to improve their health, well-being and self-sufficiency; participate in the decisions that affect their lives, both during displacement and when displacement ends; and are advocates and activists themselves, providing continuous monitoring of the policies and practices that affect them.

Our work contributes to long-term solutions, thereby lessening the likelihood of continuing cycles of conflict and displacement.

Contact: Ada Williams Prince, Senior Advocacy Officer

Women’s Refugee Commission
122 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10168

Tel: 212-551-3005 •  Fax: 212-551-8180
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website: http://www.womensrefugeecommission.org