Refugees and asylum-seekers in urban area:
In the absence of a comprehensive national asylum and protection framework, UNHCR continued to assume key activities such as registration, RSD, documentation, assistance and protection and continued to advocate for the establishment of a national asylum system to ensure that people of concern have access to international protection.
In 2020, new asylum applications and registrations decreased by more than 50% compared to 2019, mainly due to the COVID-19 related closure of borders and confinement measures. In total, 153 new refugees were recognized by UNHCR in 2020, bringing the total number to 634 refugees (excluding Syrians and others for whom RSD is not conducted).
UNHCR continued through its partners to provide assistance and complementary services (education, health, sheller, unrestricted cash assistance and livelihood interventions) for people of concern with specific needs, to help towards their protection in the pandemic situation. With regard to solutions, the operation submitted 80 individuals for resettlement in 2020 which represents 55% of the resettlement needs identified for 2020. Only four departures took place in 2020.
Refugees from Western Sahara:
To achieve the overarching objective of moving from care and maintenance to sustainable interventions, UNHCR in Tindouf continued humanitarian response in the Sahrawi refugee camps, following strategic objectives in the various sectors. As such, UNHCR started the extension of the water distribution network in Awserd camp, achieving 90% of the total works by the end of 2020. In partnership with Oxfam, UNHCR also supported the design of the water distribution networks covering the five camps, which was successfully completed in September 2020.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic UNHCR ensured the continuity of primary and secondary healthcare services in the camps, leading the development of preparedness and response plan for the camps, as well as consolidating needs in terms of personal protective equipment (PPE), medical supplies, human resources, capacity-building and community mobilization. The Office also coordinated response plans for the health and WASH sectors and updated partners on the epidemiological situation and coverage of daily needs during the peak of the pandemic. Nutritional interventions also continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining the baseline for the level of child malnutrition.
In line with its livelihoods strategy, UNHCR focused on promoting self-employment for youth and women through the enhancement of livelihood capabilities, facilitating access to financial and productive assets for small enterprise development and employment, and reinforcement of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the camps. As a result, at the end of 2020 the percentage of refugee women in Tindouf running their own business for more than 12 months increased from 0.68% to 0.77%, while 63% of refugees (aged 18-59) targeted by livelihoods interventions were running an independent business for more than 12 months.