The 1951 Refugee Convention at 75: Insights from the UNHCR's Global Trends report

On 28 July 1951, the ‘Convention relating to the Status of Refugees’ was signed in Geneva. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Refugee Convention. Originally drafted in the wake of the Second World War and in response to the mass displacement of around 55 million people, it remains the most important instrument of international law for the protection of refugees until today. In 1967, the "Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees" removed the geographical and temporal restrictions of the Convention, thereby making it applicable worldwide. To date, 149 states have acceded to the Convention, the 1967 Protocol, or both. Its enduring relevance is particularly evident in light of the record numbers of displaced people worldwide. The Maps of the Month offer a brief insight into current trends and figures from the latest report by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) who serves as the guardian of the Convention and its Protocol. How have individual asylum applications developed worldwide during the past year? What were the numbers of refugees in host countries in relation to the national population in 2025? Which states supported the UNHCR’s resettlement programme, and which provided financial support to the UN Refugee Agency?