ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an additional opportunity to undertake a concise overview of the past and present responses to refugee trauma, and discusses the possible evolution of future orientations. The necessity to respond to mental health needs of refugees is being recognized and becoming an integral part of humanitarian relief work. International protection of refugees is the cornerstone of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This mandate was given to UNHCR by the international community through the General Assembly of the United Nations. The High Commissioner for Refugees is elected by the United Nation General Assembly on the nomination of the Secretary-General. The human and financial resources for local integration in industrialized countries are normally provided by governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Elsewhere, UNHCR supports, to varying degrees, rural and urban programmes in close cooperation with governments and NGOs.
