GUIDELINE 12: Establish clear referral procedures among stakeholders
Print the Guideline I Print the Guideline and Practices
Certain stakeholders have mandates and unique skills to address the needs of different migrants. Referral procedures can help access these skills for those with particular needs.
Child migrants, for example, benefit from the assistance of actors versed in children’s rights and protection, including dedicated focal points in governments. Interventions targeted at domestic workers or victims of trafficking may benefit from the knowledge and experience of advocates and specialists on those populations. Civil society, such as migrant, grass roots, and faith-based actors, may be best placed to access migrants in an irregular immigration status. Consular officers and some international organizations may have the authority and capacity to assess identities and issue identity and travel documents. Host State local and national actors are often best placed to provide necessary services and international humanitarian actors should strive to provide assistance through local and national systems.
Stakeholders should establish referral procedures to ensure that those responding to the needs of migrants refer refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless persons to national and international protection mechanisms for those populations.
Sample Practices
- Identification and rapid assessment of migrants with specific needs who require referrals to services and assistance.
- Referral of refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless persons to relevant protection mechanisms.
- Deployment of experts to host States to identify, assess, and address needs of migrants.
- Referrals to international organizations and civil society with specialized experience assisting victims of trafficking, children, and other vulnerable migrants.
In 2014, West and Central Africa regional offices of the IOM and UNICEF developed joint regional guidelines on assistance and protection specific to unaccompanied migrant children and separated minors in humanitarian emergencies.
UNICEF Pacific developed a toolkit for actors working in child protection in emergencies in the pacific regions. The quick reference guide takes into account preparedness, response and recovery phases and is directed towards building stronger child protection national systems.
Significant mixed migratory flows transit through Niger due to its strategic geographical position. IOM and UNHCR finalized SOPs in 2016, for the referral of persons in need of international protection found in mixed flows.
In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, at the request of the Government, IOM helped set up a rapid response team that consisted of national and international immigration, police and customs officers tasked with responding to emergencies within the country, and particularly at the...
The Search and Rescue Mobile Teams of the UN Migration Agency (IOM) Mission in Yemen are in the occupation of saving lives.
Grupos Beta (Beta Groups) is a service by the National Institute of Migration (INM) of Mexico dedicated to the protection and defense of the human rights of migrants and are specialized in providing orientation, rescue and first aid, regardless of nationality or immigration status.
Disability Inclusion: Translating Policy into Practice in Humanitarian Action documents positive practices and ongoing challenges to promote disability inclusion across UNHCR’s and its partners’ work in multiple countries and multiple displacement contexts.
The Emergency Response Preparedness (ERP) approach is a practical, flexible, responsive and resource-light system for understanding and preparing for potential emergencies.
During the 2011 Libyan crisis IOM, in coordination with the Egyptian authorities, United Nations and civil society partners, provided humanitarian assistance, including food, water, blankets and hygiene kits, to migrants stranded in the Salloum Camp.