Additional partnerships

In the early 1990s, UNHCR launched the Partnership in Action initiative (PARinAC) to frame cooperation between the organization and its partners and to improve the working relationship at regional and national levels. In 2012 a similar initiative was conducted on a smaller scale, the High Commissioner’s Structured Dialogue with NGOs and IFRC. UNHCR and partners (including InterAction and ICVA) reviewed the quality of partnership and made recommendations for strengthening partnership principles in practice.

Faced with many complex challenges in recent years, UNHCR has redoubled its efforts to strengthen its partnerships with UN organizations and NGOs, both international and national, seeking to maximise complementarity and sustainability in its work for refugees and others of concern.

Today, UNHCR works with more than 900 funded, operational and advocacy partners to ensure that the rights and needs of populations of concern are met. UNHCR continues to give high priority to its relations with partners, and strives to strengthen strategic and operational collaboration at global, regional and country levels.

The main goal of the organization’s vast network of partnerships is to ensure better outcomes for persons of concern by combining and leveraging complementary resources and working together in a transparent, respectful and mutually beneficial way. These partnerships also underpin UNHCR’s engagement in inter-agency fora and processes, where mutual understanding and strong alliances help ensure that refugees, IDPs and stateless persons are adequately prioritised.