Update on Implementation of the Agenda for Protection

Mr. Chairman,

We are pleased that UNHCR and members of this Committee remain committed to implementing the Agenda for Protection. As we have said before, there are no quick fixes to the challenges of providing protection to refugees, however much some governments may desire a 'silver bullet' with which to solve their political difficulties in this area. In the Agenda for Protection we have a real, practical plan of action, the outcome of two years of Global Consultations. We should stick to it. The introduction of radical new concepts and the temptation to seize upon quick fix solutions only serve to distract attention from implementation of the Agenda and delay progress.

While individual NGOs' activities may be limited to certain areas, jointly, they can contribute expertise to the implementation and monitoring of the Agenda as a whole.

Improving Reporting on the Agenda for Protection
We congratulate UNHCR on the field-based mainstreaming of the Agenda for Protection. We would urge States to contribute to monitoring the Agenda's implementation by reporting back to UNHCR on the progress they have made, as per the EXCOM Conclusion adopted last year.

It is vital that UNHCR and governments sit down with NGOs, at the country level, to prioritise the Agenda for Protection, if they have not already done so. We fear that not enough effort has been put into this first step of jointly setting priorities. As we noted earlier, partnerships between UNHCR and NGOs extends beyond the financial relationship that may exist: NGOs must be considered as actors in providing protection. Once priorities have been agreed, reporting on progress towards agreed priorities should be done jointly, identifying any difficulties encountered.

Some NGOs have extensively gone through the Agenda, objective by objective, and documented what they have done, what UNHCR has done, and what their government has done (or not done, as the case may be). Others have not had the necessary resources for such an undertaking; joint efforts could overcome such constraints.

Combating Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Xenophobia - Goal 1 As Ms Feller pointed to in her statement, negative, often xenophobic, attitudes towards refugees and asylum-seekers are becoming too prevalent. Unfortunately, instead of combating such attitudes, a number of States are fuelling such perceptions through measures taken to keep asylum-seekers and refugees away from their borders. Governments have a crucial role to play in promoting positive images of asylum-seekers and refugees who are portrayed with dignity and ensuring that they are enabled to live in dignity. Arbitrary detention, particularly of asylum-seekers of specific nationalities, only serves to foster xenophobic attitudes among the population at large.

We would take this opportunity to remind States to build in a refugee and asylum-seekers component into their national plans of action, following-up on the Durban World Conference Against Racism.

Partnership - Goal 3
Goal 3 provided for a very important objective: Quote "UNHCR and NGOs to intensify their cooperation and to identify and address protection problems" Unquote. We regret that this particular objective has been omitted from the Update we have in front of us today.

Protection is often seen as the preserve of UNHCR and yet NGOs are the ones in the camps working directly with refugees. We fully agree that all humanitarian workers should be considered as protection officers. As stated by Erika Feller on many occasions, NGOs have a critical role to play in the "doing of protection".

Consequently, UNHCR has a lead role to play in training NGO workers on protection issues and we regret that UNHCR has not been more active in the NGO/Red Cross-led Reach Out training project on refugee protection. UNHCR has a lot of expertise to offer to NGOs, but given the financial shortfalls it can no longer function on the premise that training will be offered to all partners free of charge. Some participants from inter-governmental organisations, governments, and international NGOs might be willing to contribute to such workshops thus allowing the participation of more NGOs from the South.

Security of Refugees - Goal 4
he recent developments in West Africa, and especially in Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia, once again raise the question of the security of refugees. We welcome UNHCR's efforts to explore additional and alternative measures to provide security for the displaced within the UN structure, including with DPKO. We would urge UNHCR to routinely conduct security assessments in refugee camps.

Sustainable Repatriation - Goal 5
With regard to the sustainability of repatriation, we urge UNHCR and States to learn the lessons of Afghanistan. UNHCR's involvement in the voluntary assisted return programme of Afghan refugees is reported to have been misinterpreted as offering some kind of guarantee. On top of pressure from host States, the result was that many Afghans returned to find inadequate security, shelter, or livelihoods. The same mistakes must not be repeated with Iraq.

Refugee Women and Children - Goal 6
Overall, there is little or vague information on field-based mainstreaming of the Agenda's Goal 6. The information provided in UNHCR's update focuses on headquarters activities. If country offices are increasingly reporting, more examples would have been helpful in the document. The training of key staff - and particularly community service officers - on the protection of women and children, as mentioned in the Note on International Protection - is relevant, but not enough. Without adequate organisational commitment to the issues on which training is being provided, training alone will not lead to better protection programmes. Indeed, reports from many NGOs suggest that sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), including the abuse of girls, is at the best static, and in many cases, on the increase.

Training must be linked with having Senior Managers at the country level take organisational responsibility for enhancing the protection of refugee women and children. The development of a UNHCR Situation Analysis tool - based on the Action for the Rights of Children (ARC) Situation Analysis Resource pack - needs to be anchored, not only in the Community Services function, but also in protection and country programme sectors.

Education of children is a major form of protection, but girls remain poorly represented in secondary education. In one large camp in Africa, for example, the reason given - by UNHCR - for the low number of girls in secondary education was 'cultural'. However, NGOs discovered from interviews with girls that the main reasons were a lack of sanitary napkins and the inability of girls to move safely in the camp. A broader protection lens would have uncovered these reasons at an earlier stage.

Information Sharing
Lastly, with reference to RefWorld, which Mr. Andrysek rightly referred to as a tool for implementing the Agenda for Protection, we are disappointed that it does not contain important internal UNHCR documents, such as IOM/FOMs, Country Operation Plans, and Annual Protection Reports. We would encourage UNHCR to consider providing at least summaries of these documents (and, in particular, of APRs). Such a move would enable us all to better implement the Agenda for Protection.

Thank you.