UNHCR
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a specialised UN agency in charge of protecting the rights of persons who were forced to leave their homes due to war, their religion, membership of a certain race or their political convictions.
UNHCR has been operating globally since 1951 on the basis of a UN General Assembly mandate. Its principal mission is to protect and support refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and stateless persons.
UNHCR opened its office in the Czech Republic in 1992. This is where it monitors asylum procedures, reception conditions of asylum seekers and the observance of integration programmes with persons who were granted international protection.
In order to provide help to people covered by the UNHCR mandate more efficiently, UNHCR’s office in the Czech Republic initiated the launch of the iDobrovolnik.cz volunteer database in 2013 and has been operating it. The coordinator of volunteer activities is UNHCR’s contractual partner - Organizace pro pomoc uprchlíkům (OPU).
Organizace pro pomoc uprchlíkům (Refugee Help Organisation)
Organizace pro pomoc uprchlíkům (OPU) is a non-profit, non-governmental humanitarian organisation founded in Prague in 1991.
The Organisations core activities include the provision of free legal and social consulting to applicants for international protection and other foreign nationals in the Czech Republic, organising educational programmes for laypeople as well as experts and other activities focused on supporting foreigner integration.
One of OPU’s goals is combating xenophobia and racial and nationalist hatred.
We have branch offices in Prague, Brno, Plzeň and Ostrava.
If you are interested in more details about our work, do not hesitate to contact us at opu@opu.cz or dobrovolnici@opu.cz
