Afghan Refugee Women Attend an English Class at the Schistos Site in Greece
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Afghan refugee women attend an English class at the Schistos site in Greece. © UNHCR/Achilleas Zavallis 134 UNHCR Global Appeal 2017 Update BUILDING BETTER FUTURES While the number of people displaced globally has continued to rise dramatically, durable solutions for refugees are becoming ever-more elusive. Despite some positive examples, voluntary repatriation is at its lowest level in three decades and possibilities for local integration remain limited. With so many refugees and IDPs facing years of displacement complicated by few prospects of improved conditions, a growing number of them has sought protection and solutions by undertaking dangerous onward journeys to other States, giving rise to significant protection risks. On 19 September 2016, UN Member States adopted the “New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants”, committing to develop a Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework for emergencies, as well as long-standing situations of forced displacement. A key goal of the Framework is to encourage greater international cooperation to find solutions for refugees, including through the predictable and timely expansion of resettlement and complementary pathways to provide protection and solutions for refugees. UNHCR’s “Global strategy for livelihoods” (2014-2018) continues to transform the organization’s approach to fostering self- reliance among refugees and other people of concern, as well as to achieve comprehensive solutions. The ultimate goal of the Office’s livelihood interventions is to enable all people of concern to earn a safe and sustainable living that allows them to meet their basic needs, contributes to their dignity and provides for the full enjoyment of their rights. In addition, it also contributes to comprehensive solutions that address social, cultural, civil and political rights, as well as economic. Achieving protection objectives through national systems – a goal of UNHCR’s rule of law and governance engagement – is another important part of this multi-dimensional approach to seeking solutions from the outset of displacement. In this chapter: • Pathways to solutions • Livelihoods and self-reliance • Finding alternatives to camps • Providing access to energy UNHCR Global Appeal 2017 Update 135 BUILDING BETTER FUTURES © UNHCR/Nick Otto PATHWAYS TO SOLUTIONS Multi-year, multi-partner Voluntary repatriation planning Voluntary repatriation – supported where A central pillar of UNHCR’s approach appropriate by development assistance to solutions is multi-year, multi-partner to facilitate sustainable reintegration – planning. Building on lessons learned remains the preferred solution of many from ongoing pilots in Costa Rica, refugees. The decision to repatriate Ecuador, Ghana, Senegal, Uganda and voluntarily is an individual one that is the United Republic of Tanzania, 15 more aected by a range of factors, including operations will develop multi-year, the circumstances surrounding flight and multi-partner protection and solutions conditions for return. strategies for the next three to five years. The strategies are instrumental In 2017, UNHCR will remain focused on in maintaining a longer-term focus on supporting free and informed decision- achieving solutions, while ensuring that making, and on ensuring the best immediate needs are addressed and decision-making environment possible that the rights of people of concern for assisted voluntary repatriation. In host are protected. In 2017, regional and countries and regions, protection teams country operations engaging in multi- will continue structured dialogue with year, multi-partner planning for solutions refugees and IDPs to better understand will receive technical support on issues their intentions, as well as the obstacles such as alternative stay arrangements to safe and dignified voluntary return. and promoting access to socio-cultural, economic, and civil-political rights and In countries and regions of return, services. UNHCR will continue protection and 136 UNHCR Global Appeal 2017 Update BUILDING BETTER FUTURES return monitoring and reporting, Collaboration with partners on focusing on residents’ priorities in community-based initiatives to support return areas. UNHCR will work with greater connections between returnees returnees and those who did not flee, and national civil society is critical in as well as governments, civil society order to identify and collectively address and international partners to ensure that protection objectives. UNHCR will also information on the situation in countries continue advocating the maintenance of of origin is verified and includes in protection space in asylum countries and particular analysis of peacebuilding, regions of displacement so that neither justice and security issues that may aect refugees nor IDPs feel compelled to the sustainability of return or trigger return home prematurely. reintegration tensions. Such tensions might, for example, be triggered by unresolved housing, land and property Local integration issues; representative participation in UNHCR continues to pursue a decision-making fora; and diculties comprehensive approach to local reintegrating into the labour market. integration. As part of the Oce’s commitment to exploring all pathways to Interventions by UNHCR and its partners solutions for the displaced, UNHCR will in return areas are designed to meet local strengthen its analysis of opportunities needs, and might include collaborating for naturalization or permanent residency on programming with development for refugees, and local registration for actors, as well as support for returnee IDPs. Especially in situations where participation in transitional justice displacement is long-standing, the Oce initiatives; land restitution programmes; will continue advocating for opportunities conflict resolutions mechanisms; and for some individuals to take up local regional priority setting on education, solutions, including for those who have healthcare, livelihoods, civil registration connections to their host communities and infrastructure programming that is through marriage, business and cultural inclusive of all residents. ties. Monitoring and reporting on return People’s dierent experiences mean that conditions and protection risks and multiple solutions need to be available at obstacles are particularly important in the same time. This means that even when places where individuals return, despite voluntary repatriation becomes an option conditions not yet being conducive for some, legal local integration needs to to large-scale safe and durable remain available for others. Exploration repatriation. It is particularly important of options with countries and regions where refugees and IDPs need to make of asylum for some people’s continued decisions, when conditions are not ideal residence in places where they have built for UNHCR to focus on ensuring that their lives will include work with regional all refugees have access to balanced bodies, and with host governments and information, and to undertake advocacy mixed communities in hosting areas, so in both areas of refuge and return to that displaced populations can benefit address the priorities and questions of from all possible opportunities for stable people of concern. and secure futures. UNHCR Global Appeal 2017 Update 137 BUILDING BETTER FUTURES The inclusion of refugees and IDPs in The scope of resettlement has local schools supports socio-cultural significantly expanded in recent years, engagement with host communities. with many States increasing their Successful inclusion in national education resettlement quotas or establishing systems is dependent on multiple new resettlement programmes. As a factors, including teacher availability and result, the number of cases submitted preparedness to manage a more diverse for resettlement by UNHCR to States will student base; infrastructure and safe rise to a target of 200,000 in 2017, up access to schools; the individual refugee from 74,800 in 2012. Nonetheless, the family, and community cohesion. It is needs remain significant with UNHCR important for refugee children to feel safe estimating that in 2017 almost 1.2 million and accepted in schools, as in the broader refugees will be in need of resettlement. host community, and for refugee families Syrians make up almost 40 per cent of to enjoy their rights so that the education this number, reflecting the continuing of both girls and boys can continue. deterioration of the conflict. Refugees from countries including Afghanistan, Similarly, the successful inclusion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo children and young people in national and Sudan will also continue to have education systems is greatly facilitated resettlement needs. by a strong initial emphasis on language acquisition. More broadly, fluency in Throughout 2016, UNHCR worked to local and ocial languages can facilitate increase its resettlement processing access to justice, security, employment, capacity and to strengthen its ability to housing and healthcare for refugee identify refugees in need of resettlement, families, all of which are crucial enablers including by enhancing registration and for the full impact of educational community-based protection activities. opportunities to be realized. The increase in resettlement submissions was also made possible due to the willingness of resettlement States to Resettlement consider new processing modalities, and Resettlement continues to be an essential a number of new innovative approaches tool to assist refugees facing