UNHCR Malta

UNHCR Malta is the Maltese branch of UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, which coordinates worldwide efforts to protect people who have had to leave their homes because of conflict or persecution, and people who have no nationality. It has worked in Malta since 2005 and is listed in our directory of charity organisations in Malta with an address in Ta' Xbiex, the waterfront district beside Valletta.

For a UK reader, the agency is best understood as the body that helps governments run fair asylum systems and that stands beside people who have fled. In Malta its work centres on protection, reception conditions and integration. Our Valletta guide covers the capital next door.

UNHCR's role in Malta

Malta has been a frontline European Union country for asylum-seekers arriving by sea and by land. Boat arrivals have dropped sharply, but for a country of its size the island still shelters a large number of displaced and stateless people. UNHCR collaborates with the government, civil society groups and organisations led by refugees themselves, aiming to make the asylum system stronger, improve how new arrivals are received and encourage lasting solutions.

Even with global funding under strain, the Maltese team puts first the ability of people to reach protection. It backs approaches rooted in communities, such as talking with the people affected and supporting their integration, and it works to raise awareness of refugee issues across the country. Figures are reported for the multi-country office, which runs several countries and coordinates the Malta operation from Rome. Our guide to Malta gives wider context.

Who UNHCR protects

The United Nations has given UNHCR the task of defending the rights of refugees. Its remit also covers people who have gone back to their home country, people uprooted inside their own borders, and those who are stateless or whose citizenship is in dispute. It operates in 122 countries and regards displaced people as partners in planning rather than recipients.

The need is vast. By the close of December 2025 the world counted 41.6 million refugees, 9 million asylum-seekers and 68.7 million people uprooted within their own countries, plus roughly 4.5 million stateless people. In total 117.8 million people had been forced from their homes, a figure that means over one person in every seventy.

History and legal foundations

The General Assembly created UNHCR on 14 December 1950 to assist the million-plus people still without homes after the Second World War, mostly in Europe. The agency was given three years to complete the job and close. Instead, its mandate was renewed again and again until 2003, when the Assembly made it permanent. UNHCR won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and again in 1981.

Its work is anchored in the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol, which define a refugee and set the minimum treatment they are owed, such as access to housing, work and schooling. The key idea is non-refoulement: nobody who faces grave danger at home should be sent back there. The Protocol lifted the Convention's original limits of date and geography, and 149 states have signed up to one or both texts. UNHCR guards these treaties and helps states write them into domestic law. For the island's own long history of harbours and arrivals, see our Knights of Malta guide.

Global frameworks and partnerships

The Global Compact on Refugees, endorsed by the General Assembly in December 2018, sets out how countries can share responsibility more fairly. It has four aims: reducing strain on host nations, building refugee self-reliance, widening routes to resettlement in other countries, and helping people go home safely and with dignity when conditions allow. A Global Refugee Forum is held every four years to measure progress.

UNHCR also backs the Sustainable Development Goals and the promise to leave no one behind. It cooperates with governments, host communities, civil society and business so that displaced people can use ordinary public services such as health care and schools. An independent Evaluation Office examines how well its programmes work. Barham Salih took office as the twelfth High Commissioner on 1 January 2026.

Getting help, giving help and nearby listings

Refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless people who need assistance should go to UNHCR's own help site, which lists available support. Donations are accepted, businesses can explore partnerships, and the MADE51 shop sells handmade goods made by refugee artisans.

Other charitable work in the directory includes AAA Malta, the Association for Abandoned Animals. Close to the Ta' Xbiex address are the investment firm Abalone Asset Management Ltd and the padel club 1 Padel Malta. Visitors can browse hotels in Valletta and things to do in Malta, and anyone settling here will find our Malta relocation guide useful.

For general questions about the organisation, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message to the business.