Women's Commission For Refugee Women and Children
Encyclopedia
The Women's Refugee Commission is a non-governmental organization based in New York City. It advocates for laws, policies and programs to improve the lives and protect the rights of refugee
and internally displaced
women, children and young people, including those seeking asylum——bringing about lasting, measurable change.
The Women's Refugee Commission was established in 1989 and is legally part of the International Rescue Committee
(IRC). The Women's Refugee Commission receives no direct financial support from the IRC.
Through research and fact-finding field missions, the organization identifies critical problems that affect displaced women, children and young people, including gaps in lifesaving reproductive health care, lack of dignified livelihoods for refugees and, in the U.S., the treatment of asylum-seekers. The Women's Refugee Commission documents best practices and proposes solutions, and develops innovative tools to improve the way humanitarian assistance is delivered in refugee settings. On Capitol Hill, at the United Nations and with humanitarian organizations, governments and donors, the organization pushes for improvements in refugee policy and practice until measurable long-term change is realized. The Women’s Refugee Commission advocates for:
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
and internally displaced
Internally displaced person
An internally displaced person is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the current legal definition of a refugee. At the end of 2006 it was estimated there were...
women, children and young people, including those seeking asylum——bringing about lasting, measurable change.
The Women's Refugee Commission was established in 1989 and is legally part of the International Rescue Committee
International Rescue Committee
The International Rescue Committee is a leading nonsectarian, nongovernmental international relief and development organization based in the United States, with operations in over 40 countries...
(IRC). The Women's Refugee Commission receives no direct financial support from the IRC.
Through research and fact-finding field missions, the organization identifies critical problems that affect displaced women, children and young people, including gaps in lifesaving reproductive health care, lack of dignified livelihoods for refugees and, in the U.S., the treatment of asylum-seekers. The Women's Refugee Commission documents best practices and proposes solutions, and develops innovative tools to improve the way humanitarian assistance is delivered in refugee settings. On Capitol Hill, at the United Nations and with humanitarian organizations, governments and donors, the organization pushes for improvements in refugee policy and practice until measurable long-term change is realized. The Women’s Refugee Commission advocates for:
- Reproductive healthReproductive healthWithin the framework of the World Health Organization's definition of health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, reproductive health, or sexual health/hygiene, addresses the reproductive processes, functions and system...
services for refugee and internally displaced women - Educational and vocational opportunities for displaced children and youth
- Sustainable livelihoods for displaced women and adolescents
- Fair treatment for women, children and families who seek asylumRight of asylumRight of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
in the United States
External links
- Women's Refugee Commission
- International Rescue Committee
- "Norse Goddess." The New Yorker, Jan. 4, 2010
- "Halfway Home: Unaccompanied Children in Immigration Custody" WRC report, February 2009
- "The Lost Children: What do tougher detention policies mean for illegal immigrant families?" The New Yorker, March 3, 2008