Following the adoption of the Global Compact on Refugees by the UN General Assembly in 2018, and in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UNV launched a special initiative to facilitate the deployment of people of concern with UNHCR as Refugee UN Volunteers. This enables them to engage in an income generating opportunity which also assists them in building on their competencies and skills.

The 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol establish the rights of refugees and their responsibilities to host countries, as well as the legal obligations of States to provide protection. The theme of this year's World Refugee Day is the right to seek asylum.

According to UNHCR, there are more than 19,000 refugees and asylum seekers from 48 countries registered in Morocco (as of April 2022). Thus, Morocco is considered both a host and a transit country, which makes UNHCR’s mission crucial to ensure protection of refugees and access to asylum procedures. 

It is estimated that more than 1.32 of 6 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants are in Peru (

My Name is Emmanuel Chileshe Musonda, and I am currently serving as a UN Volunteer Health and Nutrition Associate at UNHCR's Kawambwa field office in the Mantapala refugee settlement. As a UN Volunteer, I mainly support the planning, implementation and analysis of health and nutrition projects in the refugee settlement. From a strategic standpoint, I provide technical guidance and programmatic recommendations on the overall design and focus of public health and nutrition programmes in the settlement. 

There are over 73,000 persons of concern in Zambia, including refugees, asylum seekers and former refugees, many of whom have been living in the country since the 1950s.

My role on a day-to-day basis consists of helping asylum seekers to substantiate their applications. This comprises interviewing asylum seekers in Morocco to find out why they request international protection and, based on their statements, evaluating their case to make a recommendation on whether their application should be accepted. 

Madame President, Distinguished delegates, Madame Associate Administrator, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Archipelagic and Island States Forum (AIS Forum) is UNDP Indonesia’s one of a kind project, serving as a platform to bring together 47 archipelagic and island states to collaborate on common challenges and opportunities faced by island nations. Talei and Linnet are the AIS Forum’s Programme Development Specialists for the Asia Pacific and Caribbean Regions respectively.