The Refugee Coordination Model (RCM) is the basis for leading and coordinating refugee operations; it is an articulation of our shared duty towards refugees, and a statement of both an integrated humanitarian vision and a distinct responsibility. Together with the UNHCR-OCHA Joint Note on Mixed Situations, the RCM provides the framework and the principles through which refugee and mixed situations are to be approached.

The coordination of international protection, assistance and solutions is inherent to UNHCR's refugee mandate and drives from the High Commissioner's accountability for ensuring international protection from the time an individual becomes a refugee until he or she finds a solution, whether residing in urban or rural host communities or in camps, alongside internally displaced people (IDPs) and other population affected by humanitarian crises or in non-emergency settings. ​