New UN ‘Refugee Encyclopaedia’ launched to boost refugee protection
The United Nations refugee agency today launched the latest edition of its “Refugee Encyclopaedia,” a set of six CD-ROMs – or a single DVD – containing more than 90,000 full-text, searchable documents to help all those involved in refugee protection.
“Sound decisions on refugee status can only be taken when based on pertinent and accurate information,” the director of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Department of International Protection, Erika Feller, said of Refworld, the 14th edition since the initiative was first launched a decade ago.
“Refworld makes this information available to UNHCR staff and others, be it country of origin information, national legislation, statistics, or maps,” Ms. Feller, who is editor-in-chief, added.
It combines a large selection of human rights reports from governments and non-governmental organizations, with UN documents, and all UNHCR's positions dealing with key issues and specific countries.
The latest edition has been updated to include the most recent country reports, UNHCR positions, publications, maps and statistics. In addition, for the first time, UNHCR will also be issuing Refworld in DVD-format, which will increase user-friendliness, as all the information will be available on a single disc.
“Refworld is a crucial information tool for all those involved in refugee protection,” Ms. Feller said. “It covers such a broad range of issues and countries, and contains a large amount of high-quality protection information.”
It now has more than 3,000 subscribers, ranging from researchers and academics, to government officials and decision-makers, to refugee lawyers and judges, she added. A full subscription costs $150 for governments, international organizations, academic institutions, research institutes, libraries, bar associations, law schools, and the judiciary.
A reduced fee of $75 applies to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) contributing to or involved in work with refugees, legal clinics, students, individuals, and lawyers working on behalf of asylum seekers and refugees.