Basic Needs and Essential Services:
Assistance distributed to people of concern to UNHCR who arrived with tourist visas, and thus lacking a legal status with the right to work, covers shelter and just partially basic food but not mid-term needs such as clothing and shoes, especially important for children.
Although the scale of cash assistance to this population was adjusted since 2019 to better adequate it to age, gender and diversity needs, insufficient funds did not allow for the coverage of all their food needs. This situation worsened during 2020 due to an increasing inflation and a severe shortage of first need products (both food and NFI) due to the pandemic and the economical constraints affecting the country.
Upon UNHCR’s request, the Government exceptionally authorized the inclusion of refugees and asylum-seekers in the State rationing system on equal footing as nationals, to partially cover basic needs. UNHCR also distributed cash twice during the year, but these measures were still insufficient.
UNHCR was unable to conduct training or dissemination activities due to sanitary measures to prevent COVID-19 transmission. No advance occurred towards the State’s accession to international instruments on statelessness and refugee protection.
Durable solutions:
Due to flight suspensions because of the pandemic, it was not possible to assist any Sahrawi refugee student for voluntary return to Tindouf, Algeria.
The socioeconomic obstacles to materialize rights such as housing are hard to overcome. There are no resources or conditions to promote or facilitate livelihoods projects for them.
Resettlement quotas were difficult to access. With the support of UNHCR global resettlement service, cases have been submitted to a few countries that accept RST processing of normal-priority and often lengthy cases on a dossier basis.
If the situation further deteriorates, the population of concern to UNHCR could be at risk of hunger, destitution, and lack of shelter. Even with assistance, refugees are showing increasing signs of psychological stress due to their impossibility to engage in useful activities, their lack of independence and total uncertainty about their future.
Favourable Protection Environment:
UNHCR was unable to engage government officials and counterparts in regular training, dissemination and sensitization activities due to COVID-19 sanitary measures. Additional advocacy is needed to enhance the protection environment in Cuba.