CRRF - UNHCR

Community Support Committees (CSCs) in Jordan provide a novel and community-led approach to respond to the needs of urban refugees, bridging gaps between refugees and Jordanians, and helping UNHCR to give the right assistance to those who need it most. For more information, consult the accompanying document.

In September 2017, based on the Letter of Understanding, UNHCR Tajikistan and the Hilton Hotel in Dushanbe launched a joint pilot programme offering apprenticeship opportunities to refugee and local youth in one of the world’s most established hotels. The Hilton Apprenticeship Programme aims at supporting both refugees and youth from host communities, in enhancing their professional knowledge, skills and employment opportunities in the hospitality industry and basic tourism sector, increasing their competitiveness both in local and global labour markets.

Within the scope of the Apprenticeship Programme the Hilton Hotel in Dushanbe provides professional training programme on the core aspects of the hospitality industry. The programme runs twice yearly, for four months at a time for a cohort of apprentices comprised of five refugee and five Tajik youth at no cost. Apprentices receive classroom and on-the-job training, rotating through front and back of house areas to gain a full understanding of hotel operations. Upon completion, apprentices are issued with accredited certificates.

Since it’s launching the two Cohorts of apprentices graduated from the Programme and obtained certificates that enable them to get employed in hospitality and tourism sectors. After completion of the program six graduates has successfully found jobs and get employed at various hotels, including Hilton itself. It worth to note that Tajikistan’s tourism industry grows each year and this partnership taps into an emerging market, grooming future professionals in the industry.

The innovative programme came about as a result of UNHCR’s outreach to the Hilton Hotel seeking to diversify its livelihoods interventions for refugees under its social corporate responsibility. UNHCR and the Hilton then brought in government partner the Adult Education Center (under the Ministry of Labor, Migration and Employment) to accredit and ensure sustainability of the programme, and NGO partner Refugees, Children and Vulnerable Citizens (RCVC) to help operationalize it. The four entities jointly developed Terms of Reference, Eligibility Criteria for apprenticeship candidates, and an Action Plan. They publicized the programme widely through social networks, refugee community representatives, local universities and language centers, finally selecting participants based on their knowledge, skills, and capacity for working in the hospitality sector.

Exposure to refugees through the selection process changed the employer’s views on their potential – underestimated prior to this experience. The programme also strengthened peaceful coexistence, social cohesion, and self-confidence, especially among young women. Findings of the post-training focus group discussions and questionnaire indicated that the programme achieved its goals and fostered personal and professional growth among all apprentices.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is supporting UNHCR and its partners in the implementation of the CRRF. Although CRRF is a new framework, approaches key to CRRF have been implemented in earlier cooperation patterns between BMZ, UNHCR and partner countries.

From 2005 to 2011 BMZ and UNHCR worked jointly through the ‘BMZ-UNHCR Partnership Programme’, implemented by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ). It is one of the early examples of programmes bridging immediate humanitarian aid and long-term development objectives in support of forcibly displaced persons and their host communities. Therefore, experiences and lessons learned from this programme can be of interest in the light of the implementation of CRRF.

The partnership programme led to the development of a variety of projects and approaches, amongst them the ‘Rehabilitation, Reconciliation, Reintegration (ReACT)’ approach, which is a community-based multi-sectoral rehabilitation approach, applied for example in West Africa for refugees, IDPs, returnees and host communities including at regional level. The programme was implemented in Chad, DRC, Burundi, Ruanda, Afghanistan, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Cote D’Ivoire, Liberia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan.

Some examples include:

Uganda: An innovative water supply system with maintenance and user groups was developed in refugee settlements and still exists up to date.
Kenya: The urban refugee programme aimed at avoiding parallel systems and provide refugees with access to existing national systems, such as schools, health facilities etc.
DRC: Returnees participated in officially certified trainings in areas of reconstruction. Refugees were included in activities of reconstruction; Ex-combatants were included in reintegration activities; Local decision-making structures and community development committees were reactivated.

• The approaches developed through the programme cut across three pillars of the CRRF: support for ongoing and immediate needs, support for host communities and conditions of safe and dignified return by partners from the humanitarian and development sector.
• Through joint coordination structures, the programme aimed at strengthening links of refugee programmes with long.-term development cooperation programmes
• The programme promoted innovative partnerships by working with national and international NGOs, UNHCR, development partners and the private sector.
• The programme focused on the self-reliance of communities, including refugees, returnees and host communities
• The approaches are widely replicable, if adapted to the local contexts.

Selected results:

•  Up to 1.5 million Refugees supported in camps per year
• Approx. 3 million refugees supported with return
• Approx. 2 million IDPs supported
• Approx. 200.000 shelters provided for returnees
• Approx. 1.700km of roads built or reconstructed
• Approx. 5.700 basic infrastructures constructed
• Approx. 650 small projects supported for reintegration in communities
• Approx. 35.000 persons received livelihoods/technical and vocational training

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) supports Ethiopia in its refugee response. Ethiopia is the second largest host country of refugees in Africa, hosting refugees from South Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia. As one of the CRRF roll-out countries Ethiopia has committed to nine reforms, among which one aims at increasing the enrolment rates of refugees in primary, secondary and tertiary education and another one at the enhancement of the provision of basic social services. German support focuses specifically on these pledges.

German development cooperation supports three of the main regions in Ethiopia hosting refugees (Gambella, Tigray, Somali region) as well as urban refugees in Addis Ababa. Based on the extensive experience in supporting Ethiopia’s education sector, German development cooperation also supports the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Education regarding the government’s recent pledges to more strongly promote refugees’ education. In addition, a staff secondment to the National CRRF Coordination Unit is foreseen, to further strengthen the national capacities in implementing the CRRF pledges.

Support is provided through bilateral funding and by BMZ’s Special Initiative “Tackling Root Causes of Forced Displacement – (Re)Integrating Refugees” and is implemented by KfW and GIZ in partnership with UNHCR, UNICEF, local and international NGOs. A strong focus is on the improvement of infrastructure, mainly in the water and sanitation sector in Gambella and Tigray regions. Moreover, in Somali region BMZ supports refugees’ and local population’s qualification and employment perspectives, as well as urban refugees in Addis Ababa.

German development cooperation follows an integrated approach, i.e. that both refugees and the local population benefit from all interventions. For example in the education sector, the quality of technical vocational education and training (TVET) will be improved, the offer will be diversified and job orientation and entrepreneurship advice and services are being introduced. All these measures benefit both Ethiopians and refugees alike.

• BMZ’ integrative approach in supporting Ethiopia in its reforms, which is especially challenging given the context of a strict encampment policy, is replicable in other contexts as well. Germany and the implementing partners KfW and GIZ apply this conflict-sensitive, integrative approach and measures to the local context and still fully comply to the Ethiopian legal and policy framework.
• By strengthening state actors and local communities as well as refugees, the resilience of displaced and host communities is increased and employment perspectives are improved.

Project list (BMZ financed)

Since 2014, the German Federal Ministry for economic cooperation and development (BMZ) has been supporting the Kingdom of Jordan in its response to host refugees mainly from Syria. Germany is implementing projects in line with the Jordan Response Plan for the Syria Crisis 2016-2018 and the Regional Refugee & Resilience Plan (3RP), covering areas such as WASH, energy, education, vocational training and employment, and psychosocial support. All projects follow an integrative and inclusive approach that targets both refugees and host communities, and promotes social cohesion. In many communities in Jordan, the population has doubled since the beginning of the Syrian crisis and municipalities are facing major challenges. In order to ease pressure on the host communities and tackle the additional needs for resources of refugees, BMZ is supporting Jordan in improving the living conditions of refugees and host communities in a sustainable way. This is done, for example, via infrastructure development, such as the expansion of the Aqep-water-pipeline as well as solar energy systems; as well as via social service development and by promoting the private sector and good governance.

The approach towards increased self-reliance of refugees and vulnerable host communities is capacity development through a three-pronged approach, which guides most of the BMZ’s activities: education for children, vocational training for young people, employment generation for adults. For example, BMZ has supported access for refugee children to Jordan schools, including through the provision of additional teachers and the rehabilitation of school facilities. Employment generation programmes like cash for work. Rural roads and agricultural infrastructure including water systems have been rehabilitated through labour-intensive cash for work programmes. The creation of short-term employment has been paired with vocational education and training, for example in the handicrafts sector.

Measures to promote of peace and dialogue within and amongst communities are integrated into the projects. Through a ‘sports for development’ programme, refugee and host community children are brought together to engage in sporting activities in a safe environment, promoting social integration and fostering conflict prevention. In addition to material hardship, refugees and displaced persons also suffer from the psychosocial effects of conflict. A regional, as well as national project, is supporting the Jordanian Ministry of Health as well as training courses at universities to improve psychosocial support for refugees in Jordan.

• All programmes follow an integrative and inclusive approach, benefiting both refugees as well as Jordan host communities and promote social cohesion
• BMZ support builds on and strengthens Jordanian national frameworks and systems; hence, parallel systems are avoided.
• Furthermore, by strengthening national systems, especially on the local level (e.g. strengthening districts’ capacities to deliver basic services), resilience of host communities is strengthened and long-term development is supported.
• BMZ supports the self-reliance of refugees, mainly by improving access to education for children, providing vocational training for young people and creating employment
  for adults.
• BMZ promotes partnerships by working with national and international NGOs,
  UNHCR, development partners and the private sector.

Project list (BMZ financed)

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) supports Iraq as one of the main host countries of Syrian refugees and a country strongly affected by conflict-induced internal displacement.

Main implementation partners of German development cooperation are KfW, GIZ, United Nations (UNDP, UNICEF) NGOs (Deutsche Welthungerhilfe, Oxfam, Medica Mondiale etc.) in close cooperation with the private sector. Bilateral cooperation measures strengthen the national and regional structures in terms of stabilization, economic development and decentralization. Iraqi refugees returning to Iraq are supported in their reintegration into the local labour market and with mental health and psychosocial support measures. The Special Initiative “Forced Displacement” targets more immediate needs such as livelihoods through cash for work measures for vulnerable groups. Transitional Development Assistance supports the provision of basic services like health, WASH and education, with a strong focus on infrastructure improvement (hospitals, schools, water infrastructure) as well as training of relevant actors (teachers, health personnel). This also reflects the multisectoral approach of German development cooperation: strengthening of the local economy, the promotion of new technologies, strengthening of the private sector; the provision of basic services in the sectors health, education and WASH. The core of all interventions is a conflict-sensitive approach: all interventions address all groups alike and focus on social cohesion. For example, German development cooperation supports its partners in setting up community centers in IDP and refugee camps as well as host communities to create space for communities to get together. It also includes mental health and psychosocial support measures.

• BMZ support strengthens national and regional frameworks and systems; hence, parallel systems are avoided.
• BMZ applies different funding modalities in order to address the specific needs of Iraq as a host country. BMZ support starts where humanitarian support (covering humanitarian needs of newly arriving, vulnerable refugees) ends and always equally addresses IDPs and refugees’ longer-term needs as well as development needs of a vulnerable host population. BMZ supports Iraq in increasing synergies between humanitarian and development approaches.
• By promoting stabilization, economic development and strengthening basic services, the resilience of host communities is strengthened.
• BMZ promotes partnerships by working with national and international NGOs, UNHCR, UNICEF, development partners and the private sector.

Project list (BMZ financed)

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) supports Colombia in implementing its peace agreement. Colombia is also being supported in its’ efforts to provide protection and long-term solutions to the still over 7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), forced to leave their homes due to the decade-long armed conflict. BMZ’s support for the country with the largest population of IDPs worldwide focuses on peacebuilding, crisis prevention and conflict management including sustainable economic development in conflicted affected areas.

Prevention and the civil transformation of conflicts, securing peace and ensuring human safety as well as disaster risk reduction, contribute to efforts of tackling the root causes of displacement. In addition, approaches of conflict management and dialogue are important elements for ensuring the success of measures that aim at strengthening the resilience of displaced persons and stabilizing host communities. Germany supports communities and societies with improving their capacities for non-violent conflict transformation (including transitional justice and reconciliation). For example, the programme ProPaz in Colombia promotes spaces for dialogue between state actors and civil society, supports criminal justice, memorial work, victim compensation and strengthens the capacities of local governments and civil society organizations for local peacebuilding.

Besides the interventions addressing conflict prevention directly, creating the conditions for successful economic and social (re-)integration of displaced persons and the restitution of family- and social-networks destroyed by the armed conflict, is key for ensuring sustainable peace. Therefore, in Colombia, BMZ together with its partners supports programmes to strengthen the resilience of displaced people, for example through vocational education and training, psychosocial support and local economic development. It also supports peace-education, inclusive cultural activities, and sports for development in schools and communities, especially addressing children and young people, including ex-combatants, as key actors in the development of a peaceful society. In addition, ProPaz, as well as the German financial assistance, supports the development of new institutions, policies and processes agreed upon in the peace agreement between the government and ex-FARC guerrilla.

Support is based on bilateral German as well as joint German-European funding. German development cooperation is primarily implemented by KfW, GIZ as well as German NGOs and political foundations. The interventions are funded through different funding instruments, adapted to the specific needs and situations, including bilateral technical and financial cooperation, and the Special Initiative “Tackling Root Causes of Forced Displacement, Reintegrating Refugees”.

• The approaches on peacebuilding and conflict management developed by the German development cooperation are replicable in other situations, including in refugee and
  host communities.
• By strengthening local state actors and civil society, the resilience of displaced and host communities is strengthened.
• Germany promotes partnerships and dialogue by working with state actors and civil society.

Project list (BMZ financed)