Who is UNHCR?
UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, was established in 1950 by the world community to safeguard the rights and well-being of people who were forced to flee their country to find refuge from war and persecution. UNHCR works with government and non-government partners around the world to assist and protect refugees including the right to seek asylum and seeking lasting solutions. Protection of refugees, however, is the primary responsibility of the state where refugees live and UNHCR provides protection services in close cooperation and coordination with the government of Bahrain and partners.
Who falls under UNHCR’s mandate?
UNHCR’s mandate covers refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced, stateless people, and returnees.
What are UNHCR’s activities in Bahrain?
1. INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION
Protection against forced deportation applies only to Persons of Concern falling under the UNHCR mandate (as described above). This includes carrying out necessary protection interventions to halt forcible return of refugees or asylum seekers to countries or territories where their safety/freedom is at risk; and ensure access to asylum for asylum seekers to practice the basic right of seeking asylum.
2. ADVOCACY
UNHCR advocates for refugee issues around the world to mobilize humanitarian support. UNHCR works with national institutions to improve living conditions of persons of concern in Bahrain. Such improvements can be linked to policies in relation to legal rights of refugees, in addition to social and economic rights.
Since education is a fundamental right for every child, UNHCR and its partners in the education sector seek to facilitate access to education for refugee children.
3. RESETTLEMENT
This process entails that UNHCR undertakes a comprehensive study of individual situation of recognized refugees and, based on criteria dictated by the resettlement countries, UNHCR identifies those most vulnerable cases. Before resettlement is considered as an option for an asylum seeker, s/he would need to undergo a Refugee Status Determination interview to assess whether s/he meets the international definition of a refugee. Recognition of refugee status does not necessarily mean that a refugee will be referred for resettlement consideration. UNHCR does not have the power to influence the decision of resettlement countries to accept the case.
It should be noted that resettlement is not a right for recognized refugees. It is also not an application-based process where individuals can apply. Only few resettlement slots are made available by resettlement countries to UNHCR each year. Only those refugees meeting the criteria for submission to resettlement countries will be considered. Less than 4.5% of all refugees around the world are resettled, which means that it is based on a prioritization review of the cases in most need.
Resettlement is not linked with the date of registration with UNHCR, nationality, or any other characteristics. UNHCR identifies refugees based on their protection needs and continuously assesses the most vulnerable families to determine whether they meet the countries’ resettlement criteria.
4. ASSISTANCE
The UNHCR Office does not provide regular or direct assistance in Bahrain.
5. REFUGEE CERTIFICATES
Some countries, where applicants want to travel on private sponsorship/immigration programs, request a refugee certificate from UNHCR as part of their travel application requirements. UNHCR is currently in process of verifying the procedures with some of these immigration countries. Therefore, currently, the UNHCR Office covering Bahrain does not have the capacity to register applicants for that purpose.
Who are UNHCR’s partners?
UNHCR’s partners are the entities / institutions that UNHCR refers to them people under its mandate to provide a specific service in different sectors. Currently the UNHCR office covering Bahrain has no partners to make such referrals.