acnur - 'encouraging reliance

8/7/2019 ACNUR - 'Encouraging Reliance'

1/450 UNHCRGlobal Appeal2010-2011

Encouraging

Self-Reliance

U N H C R / R . A R N O L D


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They may flee their homes

with barely the clothes on

their backs, but displaced

people always carry within

them somethingof

considerable value: their knowledge,

skills andexperience. A few of the morefortunateones manage to bring along

precious productive assets, such as tools,

livestockor money. But no matter how

much or how little they arrive with,

most displaced people have the potential

to become self-reliantin their places of

refuge. For its part, UNHCR recognizesthat one of the most effective ways of

protecting refugees, asylum-seekers and

the internally displacedis by helping

them to help themselves. Through its

educational and livelihood assistance

programmes, it encourages the

displacedto stay productive, seizenew

opportunities and shape their own

futures.

This emphasis onself-relianceis critical

if thedisplaced are tomaintain asenseof

purpose anddignity. Becoming self-reliant

canalsofostera positive relationshipwithhostcommunities,as theinteraction

betweenthetwogroups often spursnew

social,economicandculturalopportunities.

Furthermore,when displacedpeople

becomeself-reliant,the costs of assistance

andprotectiondiminishandthepathto

durablesolutions is madesmoother.

Protectingand developing peoples

resources andskills is the core

componentof UNHCRs livelihood

programmes. Trainingin vocational or

entrepreneurial skills, for example,helps to transform the periodof

displacement into an opportunity for

self-improvementrather than a time in

limbo. Such programmes also help

youngpeople who are out of schoolto

make productive use of their time.

UNHCRprovideslivelihood

opportunities for displacedpeoplein more

than 70percentof itsoperations and

acrossa varietyof settings ranging from

camps andinformalruralsettlements to

urbancentres.Livelihoodprogrammes are

promotedfrom theonset of an emergency,

through thedisplacement period, andinto

theimplementation phase of a durable

solution.

To be successful, interventions to

create andsustainlivelihoods need to be

tailored to the skillsand assets within a

population;refugees do notform a

homogeneous groupin terms of

economic resources and status.

Additionally, livelihood programmes

must respond to market opportunities

both in the place of displacement andwhere durable solutionsare likelyto be

found.

UNHCRs livelihoodactivities cover

a range of sectors, and include:

l Facilitating access to microfinance

through mechanisms for savings,

money transfers and loans. Thesehelp stabilize household cash flows

andprovide seed money for small

businesses.

l Trainingto strengthenskills and

entrepreneurshipin areassuchas

infrastructureconstructionand

maintenance,equipmentinstallation,

electricalorvehiclerepairs,animal

husbandry,healthandeducation,

child-careandothercommunityservices,

aswellasmanufacturingandretail.

l

Vocational and technical training,including courses in information

technology and communications

(ITC), through formal institutes and

non-formal classes.

l Access to business support services,

suchas trainingin how to run and

own businesses.

l Training, equipment and start-up

grants that support the sustainable

use of natural resources, for example

in gardening, agriculture, animal

husbandry, fish-farming,bee-keeping, harvesting of timber or

other forest products, brick-making

and quarrying.

l Cash or food-for-work forthe

construction of infrastructure in

reintegration or campsettings.

l Financial and in-kind assistance in

emergency situations to help secure

household assets, prevent the

depletion of household savings, and

prevent the emergency sale of assets

in early days of displacement to coverthe costs of travel andof settingup in

a new location.

l Career guidance and employment

support, including the sponsoring of

apprenticeships.

l Facilitating access to legal services

relating to employment, work

permits and business registration.

Livelihoodinterventionsare

delivered through partners with the

necessary expertise and local knowledgeto provide services over the long term.

In this regard, the Office works closely

with the private sector, development

organizations and national institutions.

UNHCRGlobal Appeal 2010-2011 51

Afghan returneewomenlearn bee-keeping, enablingthem to make a living.


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Livelihoodstrategies forprotractedandurban situations

It is currently estimated that 50 percent

of the population of concern to UNHCR

will move to urban centres forsecurity

reasons and to take advantage of the

opportunities and amenities thatcities

offer. In 2009, UNHCRbegan to boostits programming capacity in complex

urban and protractedrefugee situations.

To this end, the Office hasdeveloped a

better understanding of the barriers to

decent employment and economic

opportunities for refugees, and searched

for more effectivemeans of building

theircapacities for productive living.

As partof its responseto protracted

and urban situations, UNHCR now

promotes the development of

multi-year strategies, departing froma

tradition of annual projects.

These efforts include:

l Conducting detailed assessments of

livelihoods among refugees and host

communities. These will provide

baseline data to track progressand

provide the rationale for a multi-year

response plan.

l Formulating multi-year strategies,

which define the interventions

required to reinforce the livelihood

options of displaced and local

communities.Theseprovide effective

planning frameworks for allhumanitarian and development

actors in the area, notjust UNHCR.

l Creating expert positions to help

implement the strategies and

mobilize funding. Currently, most

field offices do nothave the capacity

to implementcomprehensive

self-reliance strategies at least three

out of five operations require

additional staff.

l Providing seed funding to kick-start

interventions and showcase initialimpact to strengthen fund-raising

efforts.

Since 2008, theseapproaches have

been applied in Armenia, Bangladesh,

Burundi, Egypt, Gambia, India, Jordan,

Malaysia, Senegal, eastern Sudan,

Yemen and Zimbabwe. To respond to

the challenges facing populations of

concern in urban areas and in protracted

refugee situations, and to accelerate the

achievementof durable solutionsthrough self-reliance strategies,

additional financial and human

resourcesare neededfor at least five

operations per year from 2010onwards.

Refugeewomens economicself-reliance

The ability of displaced women to

improve their lives andthe lives of their

children, families and communities is

often constrained by legal restrictions,

physical and psychologicaltrauma,

social stigma, lack of financial resources,

child care responsibilities and other

challenges.

UNHCR seeks to address these

challenges through its Women Leading

for Livelihoods programme (WLL),

which encourages the economic

independence and self-reliance of

refugee women. This is done through a

wide range of initiatives in areassuch as

computer literacy, language skills,

vocational training, innovative farming

and marketing techniques, and basic

finance. The initiatives also cover groupsavings and loan schemes, access to

business centres and coaching, and the

provision of child care.

The Office also encourages men, as

husbands, brothers, fathers or

community leaders, to promote womens

rights and economic self-reliance. All

projectsaim fora positive impact on the

household and the community at large.

Since 2008,WLL projectshave been

funded in Bangladesh, Brazil, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo,Georgia, India, Kenya, Morocco and

Serbia. UNHCRis seeking to expandto

15 new projectsin 12 countriesacross

Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Accesstomicrofinance

Access to formal financial services can

improve the lives of displaced people by

allowingthem to diversify their income

sources, meet basic needs andcope withemergencies. While the availability of

such financial services does not

guaranteeincreased income, it can

reduce the dependence on frequent

loans at high interest rates, andhelp

safeguard precious savings. It can also

prevent emergency sales of household

assets in times of need.

Despite the obvious benefits that it

delivers in displacement scenarios,

microfinance is not available in all

refugee operations. In some cases,

host-government policies may prevent

refugees fromgaining access to financial

institutions. In others, UNHCR and its

operational partners lack expertise in

the provision of microfinance.

Other reasons forthe lack of

microfinance include the isolation of

camps or refugee settlements and

restrictions on movement. Finally, many

microfinance projects are limited to the

provision of loans, leavingout the wider

benefits to be gained from providing

facilities for savings and transfers.

To overcomethese limitations,

UNHCR is developing a globalpartnership with the Grameen Trust.

The Trusts projects follow a

three-pronged approach known as

Build, Operateand Transfer, Build,

Operate and Own, and Build, Operate

and Manage. This approach is tailored

foruse in areasaffected by conflict and

natural disasters, as well as in remote

locations with no microfinance facilities.

UNHCRis also strengthening itsties

with the InternationalLabour

Organization (ILO). ILO providessupport to UNHCRin designingits

guidelines for microfinance,participates

52 UNHCRGlobal Appeal2010-2011

BECOMING SELF-RELIANT CAN ALSO FOSTER A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH HOST

COMMUNITIES, AS THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS OFTEN SPURS

NEW SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES

Encouraging Self-Reliance


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in its training programme on livelihood

interventions, and provides guidanceto

field operationson how to deliver

microfinance services to displaced

populations using the Grameen

approach.

TheTrust will extendits servicesto

internally displaced people, refugees and

host communities. It willalso launchnew projects in several of UNHCRs

priority areas, particularly long-term

refugee settlements or camps, in

countries to which refugees are

returning.Areas of return that require

support and reconstruction or have no

microfinance facilities will also be

targeted. UNHCR plans to support

partnerships in five operations per year,

including planning missions,

evaluations and project start-up costs.

Access to informationtechnology

Community-based assessments

routinely report an increasing demandfor computer literacy, access to computer

facilities and internet connectivity.

UNHCRseeks to address these needs

through training thatranges frombasic

literacy to high-level technical skill and

the ability to managea business.

Instruction is delivered by NGO

partners and formal vocational and

technical training institutes. However,

the quality of the facilities, equipment

and training varies widely.

To respond to this growing demand,

UNHCR and some of its corporate

partners launched the Community

Technology Access (CTA) programme

in 2009. The programme provides

standardized computer classrooms for

refugees and host communities. In 2009,

it waspiloted in Bangladesh and

Rwanda.The CTA model aims to

improve both educational and livelihood

opportunities for refugees and host

populations, whilemaximizing their

role in the delivery of ITC servicesfor

their communities.This includes

training to manage ITC facilities and

building a cadre of technicians versed in

the maintenance andrepair of

equipment. The ITC facilities are usedfor educational, employment, business

and personal purposes.

The CTA centres will host classes for

school-children, young people and

adults. Other services will include

internet access and training in

entrepreneurship andhow to setup

business centres. Employment services

andcareer counsellingwill also be

provided. Where possible, CTAs will

generate income to cover operating

costs. In 2010-2011, UNHCRplans to

implement 21 CTA projects in nine

countries: Argentina, Botswana,

Georgia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal,

Serbia, Ugandaand Yemen.Projectsinclude provision of hardware, software,

salaries, energy, maintenance,

consumables, training and support costs.

Globalcapacity

In 2008-2009, UNHCR boosted its

capacity to supportlivelihood

interventions by acquiring expertise at

Headquarters and in two regional

centres. These experts are helping

operations to:

l Define innovative and strategic

approaches to livelihood

programmes.

l Explore and build effective

partnerships with development and

private sectors.

l Provideprogrammes with

appropriate expertise and funds.

l Strengthen and share knowledge of

livelihood issues through field

missions, training events and

networking.

In 2010-2011, additional capacity is

needed in Eastern and Southern Africa,Asia andthe Pacific, andthe Middle

East. Specialized personnel are needed

in the field to conduct assessments,

design and oversee implementation of

the multi-year self-reliance strategies,

and to collaborate with other actors.

New posts will be required in protracted

situations and in large operations where

livelihood programmes will grow

significantly in line with UNHCRs

global strategic priorities.

At the same time, short-term

livelihood expertise needs to be

deployed to assist UNHCRand its

partners with assessments or

evaluations and strategic planning, aswell as to deliver specific advice on

microfinance. UNHCRs roster of

livelihood experts, created in 2008, has

supported deployment requests. In

addition, UNHCR willseek expertise

fromILO and international NGOs.

UNHCR conductedtwo regional

training sessions on livelihoods in 2009

andis planningthreemore in 2010.

These events build the capacity of staff

and partners to design and implement

comprehensive strategies. Ane-network of UNHCR staff whose

interests and responsibilities include

self-reliance and livelihoods was

launchedin 2009 to promote the

dissemination of knowledge and good

practice. n

UNHCRGlobal Appeal 2010-2011 53

ACCESS TO FORMAL FINANCIAL SERVICES CAN IMPROVE THE LIVES OF DISPLACED

PEOPLE BY ALLOWING THEM TO DIVERSIFY THEIR INCOME SOURCES, MEET BASIC

NEEDS AND COPE WITH EMERGENCIES

Encouraging Self-Reliance

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