UNHCR: The UN Refugee Agency

REFUGEES & ASYLUM SEEKERS

UNHCR assists refugees, some in urban and those in camps, such as Al Waleed and Makhmour. Vulnerable urban refugees, Palestinians, Syrians, receive targeted assistance including rental subsidies, cash allowances and food baskets. UNHCR conducts Refugee Status Determination (RSD) and resettlement processing for identified groups which are considered to be especially at risk and for whom resettlement has been deemed as the only viable solution. The registration system ProGres was rolled out Iraq-wide, initiating a re-registration exercise of the various refugee groups in different parts of the country. In coordination with the Government, new refugee ID documents will be issued which will address some of their protection needs.

IDPS & RETURNEES

Protection: UNHCR works with the Protection and Assistance Center (PAC) network throughout Iraq, managed by both international and national NGOs. Established in each governorate, the PACs’ mobile teams conduct home and community visits and are an effective tool to reach out and to maintain contact with groups of concern to UNHCR and with the local authorities. Community and household assessments in IDP and returnee locations are regularly undertaken to monitor the protection environment and identify gaps. The PAC teams assist persons of concern and the community members through dedicated legal interventions, with particular attention on documentation and facilitating access to services. Data gathered during these sessions is used to inform programming interventions and advocacy with local and central authorities.

Shelter: Shelter continues to be the most urgent priority for the IDPs and returnees in all governorates and the main obstacle to return as documented through surveys and assessments. UNHCR targets the most vulnerable IDPs and returnees with the major focus on Baghdad and Diyala where the majority of returns occur.

Diyala Initiative: A joint GOI-UN project has been initiated to support return to Diyala. This governorate is not only the second largest returnee area but also has been one of the worst affected by Iraq’s inter-sectarian war where a sizable number of people fled internally and externally. It hosts some 32,000 displaced families and an extensive part of the province has suffered form wide-spread destruction and devastation during the 2006/2007 insurgency. About 400 potential returnee villages were chosen as priority and a team of agencies- UNHCR, IOM, FAO, UNICEF, WHO and WFP- have been working closely with the Implementation and Follow-Up Committee for National Reconciliation (IFCNF) to identify the most urgent interventions. UNHCR, with IFCNR, has assumed a leading role in moving the process forward with each agency working in its area of expertise; UNHCR focuses its efforts on shelter rehabilitation, protection and co-ordination of return and reintegration.

Water and Sanitation: In conjunction with the shelter programme, small scale water/sanitation projects are linked to the shelter rehabilitation. These community-based projects help support the returnee area as whole, aimed at improving returnees’ access to clean and potable water and improved health.

Non-Food Items Distribution: Packages of essential domestic items- blankets, mattresses, jerry cans, lantern, stoves including hygiene kits are provided to vulnerable families identified through UNHCR’s outreach assessments.

Return, Integration and Community Centres (RICCs): To further reach out to the return and host communities, and expand UNHCR’s field monitoring capacity, the RICCs network was established in mid-2009. Twelve centers were opened during the year; six in Baghdad and one each in Diyala, Anbar, Basrah, Missan, Mosul and Kirkuk. The RICCs’ primary role was to access the IDPs/returnees (and other persons of concern) and through their regular field visits, to collect data/information about their situation and needs so that adequate assistance can be directed quickly. They also served as a contact point for the IDPs and returnees to obtain necessary information related to return and displacement. They worked in close coordination with the PACs, where cases requiring legal interventions were referred.

National NGO Empowerment SchemeA project to capacitate national NGOs was introduced in 2009. In Iraq, a large number of N/NGOs are implementing small-scale projects but many lack the basic capacity and experience to deliver quality humanitarian projects. The NNGO scheme aims not only to strengthen the capacity and skills of the N/NGOs to develop proposals but deliver assistance at a targeted grassroots level. Under the umbrella of I/NGO, the local agencies are guided in the formulation and implementation of small multi-sectoral projects.

PARTNERSHIP and COLLABORATION

UNHCR’s main government counterparts are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM) and the Bureau of Displacement and Migration – KRG (BDM). Other key governmental counterparts are Ministries of Human Rights and Interior; Prime Minister’s Office (through its advisor on displacement issues); and IFCNR. On refugee matters, UNHCR works closely with the inter-ministerial Permanent Committee for Refugee Affairs. Provincial and local councils are also the key interlocutors on returnees and IDP issues.

In Iraq, a sectoral inter-agency approach has been established (Sector Outcome Teams) to respond to humanitarian and development issues. The Sector Outcome teams are attended by UN agencies, NGOs (international and local) and the ICRC as observer. UNHCR chairs the Protection Outcome Team (POT), is the deputy lead for the Shelter Outcome Team (SOT) with Habitat and member of the Gender Task Force.

At the end of 2009, UNHCR had established direct partnership with 11 international and 17 national NGOs. In addition to those, as described earlier, UNHCR initiated new NNGO partnerships scheme. In 2009, 76 N/NGOs partnered with UNHCR to implement 88 projects.

UNHCR PRESENCE

The UNHCR presence inside Iraq consisted of Branch Office Baghdad, Sub-Office Erbil, and Field Office Basra, together with 14 field units (Mosul, Dohuk, Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk, Al-Waleed, Baquba, Ramadi, Samarra, Trebil, Kerbala, Kut, Najaf, Thi Qar and Missan).

The establishment of RICCs (Return, Integration and Community Centres) was also an achievement in terms of increasing UNHCR’s field capacity in Iraq. While these centers are administratively run by national implementing partners, they serve as “extended arms” of UNHCR, under its direct management.