"One of the misconceptions about the Syrian refugee crisis is that it mainly involves people in large camps, above all in Jordan and Turkey....But according to UN figures, a full three quarters of the Syrian refugee population throughout the region are surviving on their own in towns and rural areas."

"Refugee camps are born of emergency and evolve into cities of dependency, bureaucracy, and static suffering. They rescue human beings, and then they warehouse them. They relieve the host country of the financial burden and diffuse it among the member states of the United Nations."

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres discusses the current state of the world's refugees.

This meeting is part of the Arthur C. Helton Memorial Lecture series, which was established by the Council and the family of Arthur C. Helton, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who died in the August 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad. The Helton Lectureship is an annual event at which one or more speakers address pressing issues in the broad field of human rights and humanitarian concerns.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres discusses the current state of the world's refugees.

This meeting is part of the Arthur C. Helton Memorial Lecture series, which was established by the Council and the family of Arthur C. Helton, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who died in the August 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad. The Helton Lectureship is an annual event at which one or more speakers address pressing issues in the broad field of human rights and humanitarian concerns.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres explains how the increasing number of new crises around the world, in areas such as Syria, Sudan/South Sudan, and Mali, has revealed that the capacity of the international community to present conflict is considerably limited.

This meeting is part of the Arthur C. Helton Memorial Lecture series, which was established by the Council and the family of Arthur C. Helton, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who died in the August 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad. The Helton Lectureship is an annual event at which one or more speakers address pressing issues in the broad field of human rights and humanitarian concerns.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon discusses the current situation in Afghanistan, where more Afghans are seeking asylum now than at any time since war in Afghanistan began.

The UN Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons was adopted on September 28, 1954 and entered into force on June 6, 1960.

The Protocol to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees was adopted by the UN General Assembly as resolution 2198 on December 16, 1966 and entered into force on October 4, 1967.

The Organization of African Unity’s Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa was adopted on September 10, 1969 and entered into force on June 20, 1974.

Massive flight from Middle East and North African turmoil has highlighted immigration problems plaguing the European Union, says Jean-Phillipe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration. He says the EU must address comprehensive reform and also invest in countries like Tunisia to stem the long-term flow of migration.

In advance of the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, join Assistant Secretary of State Eric Schwartz for a discussion of U.S. policy on international migration and the foreign policy aspects of the domestic immigration debate.

Marcus Noland outlines two recent surveys of North Korean refugees in China and South Korea which found, not surprisingly, that North Koreans privately hold highly critical views of the regime and are rather miserable.

Rachel Schneller says, "The massive upheaval of Iraq's population that has occurred since 2006 threatens the long-term stability of the country, regardless of short-term gains achieved through the political process or military surges."

Abigail Hauslohner of Time details the plight of Somali refugees in Yemen.

Listen to experts participant in a Center for Preventative Action roundtable discussion on how to prevent future crises.

Max Boot writes that Israel cannot ignore Hamas' attacks, but also cannot do what it takes to defeat the enemy because of constraints imposed by its own public.

The international community must ensure that people seeking saftey are protected; soverignty is not a shield behind which authoritarian governments may terrorize their own people.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis who worked for the United States in Iraq have been labeled as collaborators and are marked for death. One former USAID worker is fighting to save them.