URGC

The URGC ethos was formulated in 2011 among a small group of people from different professional backgrounds working in the public, private and non-governmental sectors who shared a common interest in tackling the international impact of environmental and climate change on human displacement. Our primary goal at that time was to explore how new techniques in construction and production could be used to offer quick, effective and sustainable solutions to the ever-growing global refugee crisis.

The problems tackled by agencies such as UNHCR and UNRWA, who are there on the ground protecting and assisting the most vulnerable people on Earth, were becoming increasingly complicated with the emergence of a number of interconnected global mega-trends, some of which include long term displacement and settlement in refugee camps over many generations. For example, some Palestinian refugees are now fourth generation refugees living in Syrian refugee camps that have been decimated by the conflict in Syria. Moreover, inadequate resources are stretched by the growing Syrian refugee crisis, which in itself threatens to create an undereducated generation of Syrian young people who have lost access to schools. The impact of displacement, whether due to conflict or climate, has implications for urbanization, food and energy insecurity, water scarcity, lack of sanitation, increasing crime, lack of medical treatment, lack of adequate child and adult education, lack of suitable accommodation, child protection issues, lack of care for the elderly and the disabled.

In 2014 URGC was consolidated as a humanitarian not-for-profit organization, with the aim of developing and providing a holistic approach to displacement that could draw on the best thinking from the public, private and non-governmental sectors. URGC works in partnership with UN agencies such as UNHCR & UNRWA as well as private agencies and voluntary organizations globally to develop holistic solutions from planning to completion stage.

URGC’s Long-Term Goal is to offer competencies in:

Health
Education
Security
Housing
Food & Nutrition
Social Policy
Cultural Policy
Public Policy

URGC’s intended reach is global, including:

Middle East
Africa
South America
South Asia
East Asia
Australasia
Europe
North America
Russia and the Balkans

URGC’s goals and interventions are supported by a dedicated group of esteemed and distinguished international ambassadors. Our ambassadors are drawn from UN agencies, International Charities, Governments, Royalty/Nobility & Distinguished Professionals; they are prominent advocates including Medical Doctors, Lawyers, Media and Journalism Specialists, Environmentalist, Academics and Refugee and Migration Specialists who have on-the-ground experience URGC Ambassadors work on a voluntary basis to promote our mission. Their work is indispensable to the development of URGC’s humanitarian intervention.

According to Article 1 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is someone who has fled his or her country “owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” While the 1951 Convention remains the key legal document defining who is a refugee, their rights and the legal obligations of governments, the world has changed dramatically over the past six decades, and so have the dynamics of displacement.

The reasons for displacement today are far more complex than those envisaged under the 1951 Convention, and the distinctions between refugees and economic migrants, voluntary and involuntary movement have become increasingly blurred. Displacement is also caused by environmental factors such as the acceleration of drought, desertification, the salinization of ground water and soil, and rising sea levels, leading to cross-border movements that place a strain on the resources of host countries.  

The URGC recognizes that the absence of economic development, which can be exacerbated by conflict, contributes to the international refugee crisis, which includes refugees who are trying to escape severe socio-economic deprivation. While some may be escaping persecution, many leave because they lack any meaningful option to remain. The lack of socio-economic infrastructure which leads to lack of food, water, education, health care and a livelihood, would not ordinarily sustain a refugee claim under the 1951 Convention. Nevertheless, some of these who become displaced with families can directly and indirectly fall within the criteria of a refugee under the 1951 Act and may need some form of protection. Humanitarian support agencies such as UNHCR & UNRWA are expected to respond under the auspices of the 1951 Convention. Such agencies find themselves over-stretched, having to improvise to find solutions to save lives. The URGC recognizes the enormous crisis that the inter