Type of practice: Tools

Country: Global

Name of Stakeholder: United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)

Type of Stakeholder Implementing the Practice: International Organizations

Type of crisis: Conflict, Natural Disaster

Crisis phase: Crisis Preparedness, Emergency Response

Description

The fifth chapter of the “Refugee Protection and Mixed Migration: A 10-Point Plan of Action” is devoted to explain mechanisms for profiling and referral to various stakeholders. Mechanisms to differentiate between various categories of persons soon after they arrive in a host State can facilitate management of mixed movements, especially those involving large-scale arrivals. Such mechanisms can ensure that asylum-seekers and other individuals with specific needs are quickly identified and their needs are addressed. They can also help reduce the number of individuals inappropriately channeled into asylum procedures. In addition, the information gathered through these mechanisms can be used to facilitate individual processing, as well as to inform the development of more strategic responses to mixed movements in specific contexts.

Related Links:

Mechanisms for profiling and referral- UNHCR

The 10-Point Plan in action- UNHCR

 

Guidelines/Thematic Areas

Capacity building

GUIDELINE 8: Build capacity and learn lessons for emergency response and post-crisis action

Limited resources, funding, and technical skills can all affect the robustness of emergency and post-crisis responses. Understanding and assessing these limitations is a critical first step towards overcoming them. Stakeholders’ investment in their own capacity to improve emergency response and post-crisis recovery for migrants is critical.

Capacity building may relate to such varied areas as consular services, training for responders, resource allocation, funding mechanisms, insurance schemes, relief goods and services, border and migration management, and relocation and evacuation. Many of these areas are relevant for both the emergency and post-crisis phases. Stakeholders should also consider addressing potential reintegration challenges for migrants, their families, and communities, facilitating re-employment, income generation, and safe remigration, and supporting migrants to access outstanding wages, assets, and property left in host States.

States, private sector actors, international organizations, and civil society should assist one another to build and improve their capacity to respond. Undertaking advocacy, monitoring and evaluations, raising awareness, conducting training, sharing information, building research and knowledge, and supporting and learning from each other all help to improve collective efforts to protect migrants.

Sample Practices

  • Training and capacity building of stakeholders, such as on effective ways to access migrants and identify vulnerability and needs.
  • Dedicated funding to protect migrants, including budget lines, loans, and funding platforms.
  • Referral mechanisms that map rosters of experts who can address diverse needs of different migrants.
  • Peer-to-peer exchanges for capacity building and learning on tackling challenges associated with protecting migrants.
  • Training for consular officials, such as on collecting information on citizens and crisis management, including evacuation.
  • Monitoring and evaluation of crisis responses that includes analysis of responses towards migrants.
Referral procedures

GUIDELINE 12: Establish clear referral procedures among stakeholders

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.

 

Related topics & pages