Former High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers, who had led the UN refugee agency from 2001 to 2005, passed away in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, yesterday. “Mr. Lubbers was a powerful advocate for refugees, ...

GENEVA, Feb 24 (UNHCR) - U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers on Thursday said an emotional goodbye to some 6,000 UNHCR staff around the world and handed over temporary leadership ...

BARRANCABERMEJA, Colombia, November 29 (UNHCR) - UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers expressed his support for Colombia's internally displaced people during a visit Thursday to their ...

KABUL, August 28 (UNHCR) - UN refugee agency chief Ruud Lubbers ended his five-day visit to Afghanistan today, voicing satisfaction with the return so far of more than 1.6 million refugees, but ...

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan, August 26 (UNHCR) - UN refugee agency chief Ruud Lubbers today travelled to Kandahar to assess the situation of displaced people in southern Afghanistan, a day after ...

GENEVA, Oct 8 (UNHCR) - Hailing 2004 as the year of return and partnerships, UN refugee agency chief Ruud Lubbers today stressed the need for greater burden-sharing in the face of challenges like ...

KABUL, April 19 (UNHCR) - High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers said Sunday that UNHCR expects to see up to 1 million Afghans return to their homes this year, mainly refugees but also 50,000 to 100,000 ...

GENEVA, June 3 (UNHCR) - UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers warned today that people fleeing conflict in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region are "facing a disaster" unless peace is restored ...

HERAT, Afghanistan, April 15 (UNHCR) - High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers made a splash in the western Afghan city of Herat on Monday as he arrived amid heavy rain in what local governor Ismail Khan ...