UNHCR Diagnostic Tool for Alternatives to Camps 2015 Global Results

In its' Diagnostic Tool for Alternatives to Camps 2015 Global Results UNHCR has established a diagnostic of the situation of refugees in 92 of its' operations (with 121 Population Planning Groups, totaling some 11 million refugees).

The policy requires UNHCR to seek to promote an enabling protection environment where the legal, policy and administrative framework of the host country provides refugees with freedom of movement and residence, permission to work and access to basic services and social “safety nets” as members of the communities where they are living.

In 87% of its' operations, UNHCR has been able to conduct an analysis on socio-economic barriers experienced by refugees in their host country. Among the panel that has been analyzed, refugees are allowed to work in 83% of the situations (in practice in 63% of the situation and in law and policy 20%) and denied the right to work in 17% of the situations.

Food sharing as an opportunity to create jobs for refugees

Food sharing as an opportunity to create jobs for refugees ! We would like to share a tasty and warm article by Mat Petronzio, 'This restaurant is run only by migrants and refugee women'. This initiative supports refugees' employment opportunities in a concrete and inventive manner, adaptable in other parts of the world. 

Mazí Mas is a London-based pop-up restaurant collectively run by women from migrant and refugee communities. These women, all mothers, have had difficulty finding work in the UK due to what some deem a lack of qualifications; nonetheless, they've developed extraordinary culinary skills from years of caring for their families. Kopcke wants to help bridge that gap.

"The idea is to bring to the public something I feel we don't get enough of, which is this amazing cooking you get in homes, but don't usually get a chance to try unless you're invited to someone's home for dinner," Kopcke, who acts as Mazí Mas' CEO, tells Mashable. "And at the same time, it's to create much-needed jobs for women who have no opportunities whatsoever."

German report on the integration of asylum seekers and refugees in the labour market

The Bertelsmann Foundation released a report studying integration of asylum seekers and refugees in the job market in Germany, where asylum seekers are now allowed to work after three months, enhancing their integration prospects. But long asylum procedures still constitute an obstacle to finding job on the labour market, as employers are afraid to employ them without a definitive answer on their refugee status stated the report. Examination of the refugee status in Germany takes in average 7.1 months. 

But waiting time varies depending on nationality: Eritreans with a very high recognition rate nevertheless have to wait for 10.1 months, Afghans 16.5 months and Pakistanis 17.6 months. The report quotes statistics saying that 84% of the German people (surveyed) were in favour of a more rapid integration of asylum seekers in the job market. Reducing (without lowering the quality of the decision making process) the length of refugee status determination status is therefore a major political step to promote refugees integration in the labour market and lower State's dependency of asylum seekers during refugee status determination process.

Worrying plight of IDPs in Irak

We would like to reproduce the recent IRIN article UN Watchdog blasts Iraq over IDP treatment relating increasing difficulties of internally displaced persons and minorities in Irak to move inside Irak to flee the 'so called' Islamist State and find work in the rest of the country due to discrimination or threats by militias. 

DUBAI, 19 May 2015 (IRIN) - A UN watchdog has blasted the Iraqi authorities for their failure to adequately support and protect the nearly three million people displaced within its borders by the so-called Islamic State, citing examples of restricted movement, detention without due process and an "ad hoc" approach to aid delivery.

Rohingyas refugees denied right to work in Malaysia

The recent IRINs' article Kept afloat by hope - the endless odyssey of the Rohingya illustrates the plight of refugees who are denied the right to work in Malaysia:

"More than 150,000 people are currently registered with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Malaysia, just under a third of whom are Rohingya. But Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and treats Rohingya and all other refugees and asylum seekers as illegal migrants. Registration with UNHCR can take up to two years and even with the agency’s refugee cards, they have no right to work, cannot send their children to government schools and live at constant risk of detention. Most eke out a precarious existence on the fringes of society, vulnerable to exploitation and abuse."  

Read the whole article to learn more about the plight of Rohingyas in Malaysia: 

UNHCR comments on the draft General Comment on the Right to just and favourable conditions of work (article 7 ICESCR)

The UNHCR has released its Comments on the draft General Comment on the Right to just and favourable conditions of work (art. 7 of the ICESCR). As part of its mandate, UNHCR has a direct interest in the right to work for – and in that regard to just and favourable conditions of work for – asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons. This paper is a landmark contribution to promote the right to work of asylum seekers and refugees. It is a most welcome text for refugees' advocates as it details the rights of refugees TO work and AT work emanating from the Geneva Convention on Refugee Status and ICESCR and clarify their content. UNHCR is the international authoritative source in charge of interpreting Geneva Convention and provide guidance that should be followed by State, institutions and non-State agents. Full text is available here.

It is also worth noting that UNHCR recalls that it has established a Memorandum of Understanding (1983) with the ILO and in 2012 explored how labour mobility can facilitate durable solutions without undermining protection principles (UNHCR and the ILO co-organized a workshop in Geneva in September 2012 on "Labour Mobility for Refugees", more information available at: http://www.unhcr.org/pages/509a85da6.html).

In providing these comments, UNHCR seeks to draw attention to two important points. Firstly, refugees and stateless persons constitute an important group of persons with specific vulnerabilities in exercising their work rights. Secondly, although refugees and stateless persons’ work rights are more specifically protected under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951 Convention) 1 and its 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1954 Convention relating to the Protection of Stateless Persons (1954 Convention), respectively, the ICESCR constitutes an important additional source of rights for both groups. 

The ability to engage in decent work is a fundamental human right, integral to human dignity and self respect. For refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons, it can be crucial to their survival and self sufficiency. Indeed, without work rights, they cannot legally access labour markets, open businesses, trade in their goods, or earn wages. Work rights assist them to provide for their families and to contribute to their hosting communities.