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| 1 | < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > | 61 Page 1 / 61 | | Project Name: | Protection, assistance, and durable solutions for non-Palestinian refugees and asylum seekers in Lebanon | | Start Date:01-01-2010 | End Date:Unlimited Period | | Description: | The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. UNHCR was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and 1981. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees.
The organization seeks long-term or 'durable' solutions by helping refugees repatriate to their homeland if conditions warrant, by helping them to integrate in their countries of asylum or to resettle in third countries.
In more than five decades, the agency has helped an estimated 50 million people restart their lives. Today, a staff of around 6,300 people in 110 countries continues to help 32.9 million persons.
UNHCR in Lebanon registers asylum seekers, undertakes refugee status determination, assists vulnerable refugees and seeks durable solutions for them under the terms of its Statute, since Lebanon is not a party to the refugee instruments. | | | Activities: | Protection:
Lebanon is neither party to the 1951 UN Convention nor to the 1967 Protocol and there is no specific national law addressing the protection needs of asylum seekers and refugees. Asylum seekers and refugees, who enter the country without prior approval, are considered to be in the country illegally. The overwhelming majority of refugees and asylum seekers enter Lebanon without valid documentation, and therefore have no recognized legal status in Lebanon. They are subject to detention. The office does its utmost to promote a better protection environment through dialogue with the authorities, intervening for the release of persons of concern from detention, assisting refugees to obtain work or residence permits, providing training to lawyers and judges, and giving expert opinion in judicial proceedings.
The office has also submitted a draft amendment to the 1962 Law Regulating the Entry and Stay of Foreigners in Lebanon and their Exit from the Country and which penalizes illegal entry and stay of refugees. In 2009, UNHCR financially assisted a total of 850 refugees regularize their status and provided legal assistance including counselling and court representation to 1693 persons.
Durable solutions:
Local integration is not a viable durable solution in Lebanon. And the situations in the countries of origin of most refugees in Lebanon are not yet conducive to safe return. Therefore, resettlement to third countries remains
the only durable solution for the most vulnerable refugees. In 2009, departures for resettlement almost doubled from 1,369 persons in 2008 to 2642 persons in 2009. This represented a fivefold increase from 2007 when 450 refugees were resettled.
Of the refugees resettled in 2009, 2549 were Iraqis and 93 originated from other countries. The majority of refugees resettled (87 %) went to the US, while 158 were resettled in Australia, 75 in Sweden, 73 in Canada, 8 in Denmark, 3 in Finland and the UK respectively, and 1 in Norway.
The Resettlement Hub based in Beirut meanwhile processed in 2009 the submission of around 34,500 refugees from 18 countries from the Middle East and North African region, compared to 30,500 submissions during 2008.
Access to services:
Health: The office, through its partners, provides health assistance to both in-patients and out-patients based on a needs assessment. An office for the rehabilitation of victims of torture and violence run by UNHCR’s partner, RESTART, also provides mental health services.
Education: The office provides educational grants to all refugee children as well as remedial classes and vocational training through its NGO partners. 81% of refugee children between 4 and 17 years old are enrolled in formal education.
Material and non-Material Assistance: The office assists vulnerable refugees with financial and non-financial support including the payment of rent based on a needs assessment and case by case evaluation and carries on the distribution of food coupons and NFIs.
2009 in Numbers:
9770 total number of registered persons by the end of 2009
2642 refugees resettled in third countries
12537 food and non food coupons were distributed to families and persons with specific needs
4026 persons (1589 males and 2437 females) received domestic needs assistance (diapers, sanitary napkins, baby milk, mattresses, etc)
766 persons (384 males and 382 females) received financial grant assistance
3379 persons (2089 males and 1290 females) received rent assistance
7660 (6201 males and 1459 females) received material assistance inside prisons
1844 home visits were conducted in 2009 by UNHCR’s partners
782 persons received inpatient medical services
4787 persons received outpatient services
329 persons (217 males and 112 females) benefited from mental and psychological assistance
438 refugees between 15 and 24 years old enrolled in formal and non formal vocational training
1546 refugee children enrolled in formal education (1195 in Grades 1 to 6 and 351 in grades 7 to 12). All children registered in school have been assisted with tuition fees, education grants, school kits, and winterization coupons.
32 persons benefited from university grants (tertiary education)
75 persons released through UNHCR’s intervention
850 refugees financially assisted to regularize their status (work or residence permits) | | | Objectives: | “A Refugee is a person, owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country”. (Refugee
definition in 1951 convention). Refugees recognized by UNHCR are therefore in need of international protection. UNHCR s objective is to promote a better protection environment for them, assist the most vulnerable, and find them durable solutions either through voluntary repatriation to their countries of origin when conditions permit, or through resettlement in a third country, like the US, Australia, Sweden, Canada, and others. | | | Partnership: | The office works with a wide spectrum of active NGOs providing assistance for Iraqis for a better needs identification and response, mainly in areas related to legal aid, education, health, and prevention and response to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).
Partners in 2009 were:
Implementing partners: Association Justice et Miséricorde (AJEM), Amel association, CARITAS- Migrant Centre, The Middle-East Council of Churches (MECC), and RESTART.
Operational partners: Arc en Ciel, Chaldean Charity Association, Danish Refugee Council (DRC), Frontiers, International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), Institut Européen de Coopération et de Développement (IECD), International Labour Organization(ILO), International Medical Corps (IMC), Insan, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Lebanese Association for Development (Al Majmoua), Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Pinnacle, Right to Play, Save the Children – Sweden and World Vision International. | | Camps: | | | Fields of Intervention: | Economical development/Vocational Training, Economical development/livelihood support, Education/Educational Programme, Education/Recreational activities, Education/Social Worker Training, Education/Training of Trainers, Education/Chidren/adolescents Programme, Education/Capacity Building Programme, Education/Vocational Training, FI / NFI distributions/Distribution of kits for individuals with special needs , FI / NFI distributions/Food Item Distribution, FI / NFI distributions/Hygiene Kits distribution, Health/Medical treatment/ Hospitalization, Health/Health Education, Health/Medical Consultation, Health/Medication, Health/Mental Health, Health/Psychological Care, Health/Rehabilitation Services for PwD, Protection/Women protection, Protection/Child Protection, Protection/Human Rights, Social Activities/Awareness Campaign, Social Activities/Empowerment, Social Activities/livelihood support, Social Activities/Sports Activities, | | Locations Covered: | | | Kadaa Covered: | National Level, | | Beneficiaries: | War affected people/ Asylum seekers/ Refugees/ Victims of Torture/ | | Additional Information: | Refugees, whose protected status is not recognised by the authorities, live in fear of arrest and detention. Some opt to live a clandestine life and refrain from work. Women are particularly at risk especially those who are sole support mothers and must find a means to support their families.
Physical insecurity and lack of a means to legally work, impacts all aspects of a refugee’s life including physical and mental health. A growing number of refugees are in need of health care services, particularly access to hospitalization and medication for chronic illnesses. Health care in Lebanon is very expensive and often beyond their means.
Refugees also face difficulties accessing education. Language barriers and school fees can be insurmountable obstacles leading some children to drop out of school. They also can contribute to child labour. It should be noted that according to a ministerial circular issued in 1999 and renewed in 2008, public and private schools were called to facilitate the access and registration of all refugee children holding UNHCR refugee certificates.
Most refugees face difficulties in coping with their poor living conditions. Some of them are extremely destitute and worry about their daily bread. In addition, a growing number of them have run out of resources, leaving them increasingly vulnerable.
Exploitation at the workplace, namely for those who work illegally is reported by many refugees as well as the local communities. In fact, most employers opt for recruiting refugees in the black market, which is cheaper and simpler, they would avoid going through the many bureaucratic requirements of obtaining work permits. A number of employers might offer them lower wages than nationals because they are illegal. Employers who hire refugees have been known to deny them leave or days-off and refuse them wages on the threat of reporting them to the authorities.
Discrimination is particularly reported in schools by nationals against Iraqi peers. Refugees of African origin also report being discriminated against at the work place and in detention. |
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| | Project Name: | Service is My Joy Program | | Start Date:04-11-2009 | End Date:Unlimited Period | | Description: | LoYAC Lebanon will also implement Service is my Joy program where the students attend art and crafts and drama workshops to acquire skills and implement them in associations for orphans, children with diseases and with special needs. Furthermore, LoYAC is aiming to gather a large number of volunteers that can help in the community service. The volunteers will be trained on specific workshops that will provide them with the needed skills to make them responsible citizens. | | | Activities: | -Community Service with associations-other NGO's
-Workshops
-Rally Paper
| | | Objectives: | -Improving volunteering Skills
-Building up the feeling of responsibility towards the soceity
-Building up Art and Crafts Skills
-Helping the people inneed | | | Partnership: | | | Camps: | | | Fields of Intervention: | Social Activities/General, | | Locations Covered: | | | Kadaa Covered: | | | Beneficiaries: | | | Additional Information: | For more information about LoYAC please check the website www.loyac.org - www.loyac.org/lebanon |
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| | Project Name: | Continuous Development Program | | Start Date:04-11-2009 | End Date:Unlimited Period | | Description: | LoYAC Lebanon is now preparing for the continuous development program which includes English and Excel courses, presentation and work basic skills trainings. Students are encouraged to be enrolled in these programs because they get to pay only 20% of the fees to ensure their commitment and in return they have access to these trainings with professional trainers. In this program, students accepted should have a minimum GPA of 2.0. | | | Activities: | -English Courses
-Excel Courses
-Presentation Skills Courses
-Work Basic Courses | | | Objectives: | -Working on English Language Skills
-Working on Microsoft Excel Skills
-Building up Presentation Skills
-Building up Work Basic Skills | | | Partnership: | | | Camps: | | | Fields of Intervention: | Education/Strenghtening Programs, | | Locations Covered: | | | Kadaa Covered: | | | Beneficiaries: | | | Additional Information: | For more information about LoYAC please check the website www.loyac.org- www.loyac.org/lebanon |
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| | Project Name: | Summer Program | | Start Date:04-11-2009 | End Date:Unlimited Period | | Description: | LoYAC Lebanon’s first program was the Summer Program 2009, and now planning for the Summer Program 2010. Students from public and private educational institutions were recruited and selected upon the following criteria: Written examination to assess their Arabic and a foreign language level and an interview. After the selection, students got the opportunity to do an internship for 6 weeks in well known companies and in return they did community service. This year 40 students from high schools and universities were enrolled in the program. One of the students was hired in one of the companies we coordinated with during the program, and another student was chosen as the best trainee in Bank Audi. Some students did their community service in associations like Toufoula, Nahwa Al Muwatiniya, DPNA and Green Party. Other students were involved into two social committees. LoYAC’s administration gave each group an amount of money and asked them to help people in need. The first group helped a poor family by providing them with basic furniture. The other group organized an Iftar for Dar Al Aytam orphans. Al-Mawared Bank was the sponsor of this Summer Program. | | | Activities: | -Training in different well known companies in Lebanon
-Participating in different Local NGO
-Planning their own community service | | | Objectives: | -Building up Working Skills
-Gainning Expereince
-Community Service | | | Partnership: | -Toufoula
-Nahwa Al Muwatiniya
-DPNA
-Green Party | | Camps: | | | Fields of Intervention: | Economical development/Vocational Training, Social Activities/General, | | Locations Covered: | | | Kadaa Covered: | | | Beneficiaries: | | | Additional Information: | For more information about LoYAC please check the website www.loyac.org - www.loyac.org/lebanon |
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