Review-2001/11 -  REFWORLD - Courtesy United Nations High Commission for Refugees - UNHCR

Medium:

CD-ROM and World-Wide Web

REFWORLD is a collection of full-text databases representing the most comprehensive and reliable refugee information resource available, drawn from the most current and authoritative sources. REFWORLD builds upon UNHCR's commitment to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information possible and to make it easily accessible worldwide. Information sources include, UNHCR Official Documents, United Nations Official Documents, Country Information, Country Maps, Legal Information, Bibliographic Information and Reference Material.

REFWORLD offers easy access to a wide range of information on international and national law and practice; current country conditions from a variety of sources including governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations; policy guidelines and manuals; as well as an extensive collection of bibliographic references and research contacts.

Sources of Information:

The Centre for Documentation and Research - CDR of the UNHCR, cooperates closely with a number of information partners to ensure depth of coverage. All information available through REFWORLD is derived from public sources. Contributing partners retain copyright to reports published in REFWORLD and remain solely responsible for the contents of their reports.

CDR cooperates closely with a number of information partners to ensure depth of coverage. All information available through REFWORLD is derived from public sources. Contributing partners retain copyright to reports published in REFWORLD and remain solely responsible for the contents of their reports.

UNHCR Information: All Conclusions on the International Protection of Refugees adopted by the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme (EXCOM; in English/French). Reports submitted to EXCOM (since 1995); Notes on International Protection submitted to EXCOM (since1964); All in English/French. Reports submitted to the Standing Committee which replaced the Sub-Committees (since 1996; English/French). Reports submitted to EXCOM’s Sub-Committee of the Whole on International Protection (since 1977; English/French); reports submitted to the EXCOM Sub-Committee on Financial and Administrative Matters (since 1995); Speeches of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (since February 1992) Selected UNHCR Conference report

UN Information: General Assembly: Resolutions (since 1981); selected country and human rights reports and reports submitted by UNHCR (since 1995). Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Resolutions (since 1983); reports submitted by UNHCR to ECOSOC (since 1995). Security Council Resolutions (since 1975); Presidential Statements to the Security Council (since1995); selected country and human rights reports (since 1995).. UN Commission on Human Rights: Country and thematic reports (since 1995; selected reports since1992). Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities: Country and thematic reports (since 1993). UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies: Core reports; decisions/views, State Party reports (since 1992). Maps (by country, from UN Department of Public information, Cartographic Section, and UNHCR’s Environmental Unit)

Reference Information: UNHCR publications (e.g. the State of the World’s Refugees, the Refugee Survey Quarterly, UNHCR and its Partners in Europe); UNHCR statistics; UNHCR directory of Offices worldwide; UNHCR operational guidance materials (handbooks, guidelines and training manuals); The International Thesaurus of Refugee Terminology (2nd ed., English/French/Spanish).

Legal Information: Legal guidelines and policy documents from UNHCR and a range of governments (including the UNHCR Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status, (in English, French and Spanish). Over 250 international and regional refugee, human rights and humanitarian law instruments with updated lists of ratifications and reservations (in English and French). Over 800 abstracts and over 1600 full texts of precedent-setting judicial decisions from 23 countries and international/regional bodies. National legislation on asylum, nationality, and citizenship and constitutional texts, for over 150 countries.

Country Information: Over 17,000 analyses and in-depth reports on country situations produced by: UNHCR Centre for Documentation and Research; the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (English/French). The Immigration and Naturalization Service of the U.S. Department for Justice, the U.S. Department of State (Country reports on human rights practices) and the Federal Office for Refugees of Switzerland (French/German). Amnesty International (annual reports and country reports, English, French since 1996). Human Rights Watch (annual reports and country reports). Lawyer’s Committee for Human Rights (annual critique to the U.S. Department of State reports and other reports). U.S. Committee for Refugees (World Refugee Survey). Open Society Institute WriteNet, a network of researchers.

Bibliographic Information: More than 12,000 fully indexed bibliographic references to monographs, documents and reports, articles and periodicals on refugees and related issues.

Refugee News: Open Media Research Institute (OMRI) (Daily digests, analytical reports); now the RFE/RL (Daily newslines) Forced Migration Projects (FMP) of the Open Society Institute (OSI): FM Alerts, FM Monitor, Special reports UN Press releases. Media Indexes prepared by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

REFWORLD provides access to current, reliable information and supports the decision-making process and enhances planning in all areas concerning refugees and displaced persons, including status determination, policy formulation and research.

REFWORLD is available on the world-wide web at the URL: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld, as well as on the CD_ROM The CD-ROM is updated every six months in January and July. The CD-ROM is available on an annual subscription, which includes two CD-ROMs per year and supporting documentation. Demonstration versions allowing five hours of access may also be obtained from CDR.

Please visit the UN Common Library or the UNIC Library, to consult REFWORLD Database and online retrieval of any Document / resolutions / Reports, contained in the repository through our Free Internet Public Access Terminals. Otherwise, please feel free to use Ask UNCOL, our phone / email-based remote reference service to make database searches for you for the document/s you need and send the search results or document/s to you by
return email. The documents may be printed, downloaded on Floppy discs or saved and delivered electronically
to an e-mail address as an attachment.