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THE MANDATE AND ROLES OF UNHCR IN SOMALILAND
The role and mandate of UNHCR is to provide International protection to refugees, returnees and IDPs and seek durable solution to their plight. International protection in simple terms means that refugees should not be treated differently from the Nationals of the country of asylum.
UNHCR's primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well being of Refugees, Asylum seekers, IDI's and the Returnees. In its efforts to achieve this objective, UNHCR strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another state, and return home voluntarily.
We have three types of Durable solution in UNHCR
The first and the most preferred one is voluntary repatriation to their country of origin in safety and dignity. This very much depends on the situation in the country of origin. If those reasons for their flight no longer exists in the country of origin and if the conditions are conducive for their return, UNHCR will then promote voluntary repatriation he it spontaneous or organised. However, if an individual refugee wants to go back to his country of origin, which is still considered
unsafe, UNHCR will facilitate his return.
The second durable solution is integration in the country of refuge provided that the Government of the country hosting the refugees is willing to assimilate the refugees within the local communities. This implies giving of land and allowing refugees to participate in the socio-economic activities of that country like it's own citizens. We normally revert to this solution if the refugees are likely to stay in the country of refuge for a foreseeable future without any prospect of repatriation to their country of origin. Ethiopian/Eritrean refugees in Sudan in the mid eighties & Sudanese refugees in Uganda are good example for this.
The third and the least preferred durable solution is resettlement to a third country when the above mentioned two solutions are not feasible. We have UNHCR resettlement criterion (survivors of torture and trauma, female-headed households, unaccompanied children, refugees whose lives are threatened in the country of asylum etc.). In a particular camp many refugees may qualify for one or two of UNHCR criterias, but only the most needy ones are given the chance every year due to limited quota from the recipient countries.
2. PENDING DURABLE SOLUTION
we render what we call care and maintenance where by basic assistance including food(WFP), water /sanitation, education, health & community services are given.
I WOULD LIKE TO STRESS THAT UNHCR IS A HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATION WITH SPECIFIC MANDATE FOR REFUGEES AND PROBABLY FOR IDPS (DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION). IT IS NOT A DEVELOPEMNTAL ORGANIZATION AS PERCIEVED SOMETIMES.
3. INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
The key points of UNHCR's policy on IDPs are
* UNHCR has an interest in the protection of and welfare of persons who have been displaced by persecution, situations of general violence, conflict or massive violation of human rights, because of their similarity to refugees in terms of causes and consequences of their displacement and their humanitarian needs.
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The interest places upon UNHCR a responsibility to :
Advocate on behalf of the internally displaced Mobilise support for them
Strengthen its capacity to respond to their problems
Take the lead to protect and assist them in certain situations
4. UNHCR9S INVOLVEMENT IN A SPECIFIC OPERATION WILL REQUIRE
- A request or authorisation from the Secretary General or a competent principal organ of the UN
Consent of the State concerned, and where applicable, other entities in the conflict
Access to the affected population
Adequate security for staff of UNHCR
Clear lines of responsibility and accountability with the ability to intervene directly on protection matters
Adequate resources and capacity
5. UNHCR PRESENCE IN SOMALI LAND
UNHCR's presence in Somaliland commenced in 1993
THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE OFFICE ARE AS FOLLOWS:
To encourage and facilitate the voluntary repatriation of refugees from Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Yemen, Libya and other countries and to help them reintegrate in safe areas by providing basic structures and services.
To consolidate the reintegration of returnees from previous years by implementing community based quick impact projects with an emphasis on long-term sustainability and self-reliance.
To monitor the safety of returnees through frequent visits to those areas where refugees have returned and settled.
To provide information on the security and political situation in Somalia to UNHCR offices in countries of asylum so as to assist in determining protection policies e.g. Voluntary repatriation, status determination etc.
To ensure the protection and well being of refugees of all Nationalities, specially the Ethiopians, and seek durable solution to their plight.
6. REPATRIATION OPERATION
As I have mentioned above the most preferred durable solution for refugees is the voluntary repatriation to their country of origin. There is nothing more exiting for Refugees than to go back to their country from where they were de- rooted and forcibly separated from their loved ones. There is nothing like home where everyone has a sense of belonging. Our office in close co-operation of the Government of Somaliland and especially the MRR&R, The Government of Ethiopia and UNHCR Jijiga, has repatriated 100,000 refugees from Ethiopian Refugee camps since the operation began in 1997.
The target for this year is to repatriate 67,000 refugees. So far we have repatriated 17,843, this low figure is attributed to problems faced regarding the repatriation package on the other side. Now that the obstacles are removed the stalled repatriation operation has resumed on 18 July and will be pursued vigouresouly until the end of the year. Before the end of the year, we are also expecting some Somalilanders to be repatriated from Djibouti. In preparation for this the concerned parties have undertaken a pre-repatriation assessment mission to Somaliland from Djibouti last February.
Apart from refugees in Ethiopia, the Office has also facilitated repatriation of refugees from Kenya, Yemen and other countries.
7. REINTEGRATION OF REFUGEES IN SOMALILAND
Reintegration of refugees to their respective villages is a very important activity that our office gives emphasis. This is an effort to entrench returnees in their areas of return to make their new life as reasonably comfortable as possible. UNHCR endeavours to achieve this objective by targeting the Community as a whole i.e. returnees and residents who remained behind in the country of origin, rather than specific categories of people. This we believe will avoid discrimination between returnees; IDPs and other equally affected local population. Projects are designed to address the collective needs of these people to rebuild their communities in confidence. Priority is given to water, health, education, agriculture and livestock sectors.
8. MODALITIES OF IMPLEMENTATION
We have two modalities of implementation of projects i.e. QIPs and Sub- Agreements
9. QIPS
Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) are means of facilitating durable solution through integration. They are short term, small-scale projects designed to have visible impact to enhance better living conditions of the areas of return. They are also instrumental in local capacity building which is part and parcel of these projects.
The overall aims of QIPs are:
To enhance voluntary repatriation through reintegration by increasing the absorption capacity of the receiving community
To contribute to the reconciliation process during mass return of refugees and IDPs by addressing the collective community needs
To promote the complimentary and smooth interface between short-term humanitarian assistance and longer term development programmes and thereby contribute to sustainability of projects results and effectiveness in meeting the needs of the community.
Since the inception of these projects in 1993, a number of projects were implemented as per the following sectoral and regional breakdowns.
By sector
Sector No. of Projects
Expenditure $
EDUCATION 119
3,868,587
HEALTH
35 1,428,163
WATER
55 1,305,691
AGRICULTURE 38
1,295,306
LIVESTOCK 15
431,449
SANITATION 15
336,994
MISC.
84 3,108,748
Total QIPs 361
11,774,938
Many of these projects were implemented in returnee areas without necessarily neglecting other regions.
10. STRENGTHS OF QlPs
Quick results Low/cost
Community involvement
Fast relief
Generate employment Reconstruction of infrastructure
Capacity Building
Bridge gap with development
11. PROBLEMS AND WEAKNESSES OF QlPs
We have encountered problems and weaknesses in the implementation of QIPs in Somaliland
Undue pressure on UNHCR & Government staff from competing NGOs Lack of technical quality of the projects
Accountability in some cases (funds were not used properly and therefore, we did not get the value for money, some NGOs have disappeared with instalments etc.)
Sustainability, some structures (schools, MCHs ) constructed ending up being white elephants without being used,
Inflated unit prices and project costs compared to the actual volume of work
12. REVISED PROCEDURE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF QlPs
The problems and weaknesses that I have mentioned above necessitated a revised procedure for implementation of QIPs. UNHCR Hargeisa compiled the guidelines for the revised procedure to approve and implement QIPs in consultation with all stakeholders. The revised procedure is summarised as follows:
The community through the local NGO will initiate Projects at the grass rootlevel
• Proposals cleared by the line ministries will be forwarded to UNHCR through the MRR&R
• QIPs received by UNHCR will be registered and allotted a reference number • Depending on the availability of fund, a short list of proposals will be prepared
• A joint assessment mission by UNHCP, MRR&R, the concerned line ministry and the local NGO will be undertaken.
• If the project is found to be essential, viable and sustainable by the assessment team it will then be presented for approval to the QIPS Committee which comprises of UNHCR, MRR&R and the Line Ministry concerned.
• The Head of UNHCR Hargeisa will give the final authorisation for implementation of the project.
This, we believe, will enhance transparency, credibility and accountability and will improve the value for money to ensure continued donor funding.
13. SUB AGREEMENTS
Sub-Agreements are tools for implementation of UNHCR funded projects. These agreements are signed with NGOs, UN Agencies or Government Implementing partners and have a specific periodic schedule for release of instalments and submission of reports by implementing partners.
A total of 15 Sub-Agreements with a total value of 1,847,046 were signed over the years for various projects. In the year 2000, the following Sub-agreements for a total of $ 749,668 have already been signed and implementation is underway.
Provision of Agency Operational Support signed with MRR&R Realisation of Children's right for education and recreation signed with SCF[US
Improvement of Hargeisa water supply system signed with Habitat
Support to primary School education signed with CARE INT.
Prepared by
Moshood Olatokunbo Head UNHCR Sub-Office Hargeisa, Somaliland 25 July 2000.
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