Tanzania is a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1767 Protocol, the key legal documents that form the basis of the work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). UNHCR is a United Nations agency headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. Tanzania is also a party to the 1969 OAU Refugees Convention and has an elaborate legal framework for refugee protection incorporating a principal national legislation namely, Refugee Act of 1998.

Tanzania has not only consistently been at the forefront of regional peacebuilding efforts, but also remained as an important asylum country, with a long history of hosting refugees.  As of March 2024, Tanzania hosts some 241,883 refugees and asylum-seeker, primarily from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Around 83% refugees and asylum-seekers reside in two camps in North-western Tanzania, Kigoma region, while some 70,000 refugees from the 1972 Burundian population live in Kigoma villages and the three old settlements. Tanzania had naturalised 3,000 refugees from Somalia, 10,000 from Rwanda, and, and 162,000 from Burundi.
The Government of the United republic of Tanzania in collaboration with UNHCR works together in discharging its international obligations, fulfilling the Agency’s core objectives to provide refugees and asylum seekers with international protection and seek durable solutions to their situations.

In Geneva, the mission represents the interests of Tanzania within the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and defends the country's position on issues that are priorities for Tanzania by participating in decision making process of the organisation and support groups of organisations of which Switzerland is a member.
UNHCR is governed by the UN General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The UNHCR Executive Committee approves the agency's annual programmes and the corresponding budget. These are presented by the High Commissioner, who is appointed by the UN General Assembly.
Tanzania is a member of the Executive committee, (ExCom), which meets in Geneva annually to review and approve the agency’s programmes and budget, advise on international protection and discuss a range of other issues with UNHCR and intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. ExCom's Standing Committee meets several times each year to carry on the body's work between plenary sessions.

At its periodic meetings, the Standing Committee examines thematic issues included by the plenary in its programme of work, reviews UNHCR’s activities and programmes in the different regions (as well as its global programmes), adopts appropriate decisions and conclusions on issues included by the plenary in its programme of work, and discusses other issues that it deems of concern.

As a UN Member State, Tanzania also participates in the Global Refugee Forum, the world’s largest international gathering on refugees that brings together UN Member States, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, academia, refugee-led organizations and displaced and stateless people, with the aim of discussing and finding solutions to the challenges faced by refugees and their host communities. Held every four years, the forum is aimed at supporting the practical implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees. The Compact, although a soft law instrument and therefore non-legally binding, provides a cooperative framework and expresses the willingness of the international community to find a common approach to managing migration across borders. As one of the main arrangements for follow-up and review under the Global Compact on Refugees, the High-Level Officials Meeting is held two years after every Global Refugee Forum (GRF)  to take stock of progress.
Detailed information on Tanzania and UNHCR 
Detailed information on UNHCR
Detailed information on the Global Compact on Refugees 

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations related organization working in the field of migration. The organization implements operational assistance programmes for migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.

IOM was established in 1951 and started its operations in 1952 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration. Following amendments made to the IOM Constitution on 14 November 1989, the Organization was renamed the International Organization for Migration and, on 21 November 2013, and currently has 175 Member States, including Tanzania, which joined in 1998.

The United Republic of Tanzania, through its Permanent Mission in Geneva has been participating in the decision making process of the organisation, mainly the Council, which is the highest authority and determines IOM policies, and the Standing Committee on Programmes and Finance, which is a subcommittee of the Council open to the entire membership and normally meets twice a year to examine and review policies, programmes and activities, to discuss administrative, financial and budgetary matters and to consider any matter specifically referred to it by the Council.

Since 2009, the United Republic of Tanzania has also hosted IOM’s first (and only) training institution, the African Capacity Building Centre (ACBC) in Moshi (Kilimanjaro Region). The Centre, established at the request of the IOM African Member States, supports their efforts to improve migration and border management and governance.
Tanzania will continue to cooperate with IOM in such areas as the humanitarian–development-peace nexus; protection for migrants; migration and health; migration, environment and climate change; immigration and border management; counter trafficking of persons; return and reintegration; as well as migration policy and data.
Detailed information on Tanzania and IOM 
Detailed information on IOM