International Refugee Organization (IRO)

Temporary specialized agency of the United Nations system (1946–52). The IRO assisted refugees and displaced persons in Europe and Asia who could not or would not return home after World War II. Taking over the work of its principal predecessor, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, it also assumed responsibility for the legal protection and resettlement of refugees previously carried out by the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees. It was succeeded by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.