Overview of Right to Work for Refugees Syria Crisis Response: Lebanon & Jordan

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) in its' policy paper 'Overview of Right to Work for Refugees Syria Crisis Response: Lebanon & Jordan' examines the access to work of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, as codified under international law. It then considers the domestic law in Jordan and Lebanon that governs work rights for Syrian refugees and provides recommendations for future policy and practice to help realize their right to work. 

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.

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: 

UNCHR Website on Urban Refugee Programs and best Practices

The Website on Urban Refugee Programs and Best Practices is a place to look for resources and insights on effective programming for urban refugees. This collaborative project is meant to serve as a compilation of positive examples of urban refugee services. These best practices are categorized by sector, organization, and geographic location so users can easily search for the information most relevant to them. Check it out, and help the site grow by submitting your own success stories!

Refugees' Right to work is vital to individual dignity said Kenyan High Court (July 2013)

We reproduce hereafter an extract of the first High Court ruling (26 july 2013) quashing the Kenyan government directive planning to send urban refugees living in Nairobi into refugee camps. This extracts recalls that the right to work of urban refugees contributes to human dignity and allows for self-sufficiency of refugees. 

Right to dignity
The petitioners and other refugees have established roots in the country and are productive residents and if the policy is implemented they will be uprooted from their homes and neighbourhoods in what is intended to be a security operation.

Kenya: decades of integration efforts by refugees at stake

We would like to reproduce an article by James Stapelton, International coordinator at the Jesuit Refugee Service and Professor of Human Rights published in June 2014 on the situation of urban refugees in Kenya (see also our previous post on the same topic: Unlawful Refugees' transfer to violate human rights dating 22/01/2013).

The right to work and live a decent life of self- sufficient urban refugees is again at stake in Kenya...

JRS | KENYA: DES DÉCADES D’INTÉGRATION DES RÉFUGIÉS MISES À MAL, publié le 20 août 2014