Transcript Document

UNHCR
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
CCR
Edmonton, 24 May 2007
Mr Vincent Cochetel
Department of International Protection
UNHCR, Geneva
I-
Basic Facts about UNHCR and
Resettlement Activities
II-
Canada’s contribution to Resettlement
Activities
III-
Global Trends & Challenges for UNHCR
Who are the 20.8 million people falling under
competence UNHCR’s competence?
Internally
displaced
persons,
6,600,000, 32%
Asylum
seekers,
668,000, 3%
Returnees,
1,100,000, 5%
Stateless
people
4,032,000, 19%
Refugees,
8,400,000, 41%
Refugee population 8.4 millions
Distribution by area in June 2006
CASWANAME,
2,467,300, 29%
Asia & the
Pacific
825,600, 10%
Americas
564,300, 7%
Africa,
2,571,500, 31%
Europe,
1,965,800, 23%
Durable Solutions for
Refugees
 Facilitation/Promotion of Voluntary
Repatriation
 Facilitation/Promotion of Local Integration
 Promotion of Resettlement
The objectives of
Resettlement
 To save/rescue individuals/families with
specific protection needs
 To activate this durable solution in absence or
in parallel with other durable solutions
 As an element of burden/responsibility-sharing
 To create protection dividends for refugees
who are not going to be resettled
Resettlement Submissions
 Submissions by dossier
 Submission during selection missions
RESETTLEMENT
COUNTRIES
(“current resettlement activities”):
81,730






50,000
12,000
13,000
5,550
750
430
USA :
CANADA:
AUSTRALIA:
(9) EUROPEAN COUNTRIES:
NEW ZEALAND:
(5) LATIN AMERICA COUNTRIES:
Total needs for resettlement in 2007:
53,100 refugees (individual submissions)
24,000 refugees (submissions of groups)
Total: 77,100 refugees
= 0.9 % of the refugees world population
UNHCR ESTIMATE CAPACITY AS REGARDS
SUBMISSIONS:
Approximately: 50,000 refugees
2006 Resettlement Departures
by Criteria of Submission
Refugees without
Local Integration
Prospects
38%
Survivor of
Violence and
Torture
5%
Women at Risk
7%
Child & Adolescent,
0%
Family Reunion
1%
Legal and Physical
Protection Needs
50%
Medical
2%
Canada’s contribution to
Resettlement Activities
 One of the “big three” resettlement countries in
the world
 A resettlement programme sensitive to
protection concerns/priorities (e.g. Palestinian
refugees in Jordan)
 Canada’s significant support to several
resettlement/protection-related programmes
 A refugee resettlement program usefully
complemented by the Private Sponsorship
Program (PSR)
 Canada’s readiness to use resettlement for
protracted refugee situations (e.g. Bhutanese
refugees in Nepal or Eritrean refugees in
Sudan)
 Canada’s commitment to use resettlement in a
strategic manner (i.e. protection dividends
arising out of resettlement activities) (e.g.
support to MPA)
 Consistent public support
 Strong involvement of NGOs, volunteers
and local/central authorities
 Improved predictability in referrals in
2005-2006
Global trends
 Impact of new anti-terrorist legislation
(admission, security screening, delays in
departure…)
 Excessive use of a criteria of “local
integration potential” by certain countries
of resettlement
 Increase in the emergency resettlement
requests because of the deterioration of
the situation in certain countries of first
asylum
 Difficulties for resettlement countries of
considering various groups in many countries
of first asylum and temptation to turn to a mode
of selection by group, with the risk of limiting
geographical diversity in in-take.
 Effective access employment market in several
countries of resettlement
Challenges for Canada’s
Resettlement Programme
 Ensure better synergies between the
Government-Assisted Refugee
Resettlement program and a strategic
use of the Private Sponsorship Program
 Pilot the use of dossier places and/or
interviews by remote
 Improve and shorten the length of
security screening by CBSA
 Build upon group resettlement
experiences
 Improve the functioning / responsiveness
of the UPP
Enhance the role of NGOs
in needs identification process
in case preparation and referrals to UNHCR
in verification exercises (group processing)
in cultural orientation/language/literacy
courses in countries of asylum
Challenges for UNHCR
 To improve planning, predictability, coherence
in the resettlement submissions
 To make the resettlement accessible :
 to larger number of refugees,
 from more countries of first asylum
 and towards a broader number of countries of
resettlement
 to promote the implementation of durable solutions
strategies in particular for the protracted situations
 Implementation of the conclusion No. 105 of the
UNHCR Executive Committee on women-at-risk
 to document country-by-country benefit resulting
from a strategic use of the resettlement
 to give a “human face” to the resettlement
activities as effective way to combat xenophobia
and to promote this solution
 To promote harmonized approaches for refugees
in order to ensure equitable access to this
solution and to reduce secondary movements
 To establish “temporary transit facilities” for
refugees having an immediate need for evacuation
 To broaden the base of resettlement countries in
Europe and Latin America
 To draw lessons from the group resettlement and
other forms of simplification of procedures
 To encourage the harmonization of the programs
of cultural orientation before the departure to
resettlement countries
 To roll-out UNHCR resettlement anti-fraud
program
 To collect and disseminate “ best practices”
 To further engage NGOs in the promotion of
resettlement activities