There were no legislative reforms relating to refugees or amendments to the UNHCR- Government of Jordan MoU during the period. In 2015, a comprehensive training programme was implemented by the Legal/Training Unit, targeting some 1,922 individuals from Government, NGOs, and civil society. Trainings and awareness raising sessions covered topics such as international refugee law and UNHCR‘s mandate, the 1951 Convention, as well as the 1998 Memorandum of Understanding between the Jordanian government and UNHCR, with a particular focus on international protection and the principle of non-refoulement. The legal challenges discussed include the absence of official registration of new-borns and the lack of birth certificates, access to the formal labour market, including work permits for refugees, and the risks of deportation for working illegally. Training also covered PSEA, LGBTI, SGBV, and child protection issues.
In 2017, UNHCR will continue its support to the Sharia Courts and Civil Status Department in order to ensure that all children are registered at birth. UNHCR will also train staff of both entities to ensure their understanding of the refugee situations and difficulties on the ground and ensure that they are issued with needed documents. UNHCR will also continue mass information campaigns on birth and marriage registration and will explore new ways of reaching out to refugee populations, in particular refugee youth, to ensure refugees comply with relevant laws and timelines. UNHCR will also explore the opportunities for achieving legislative or policy reform to reduce the risk of statelessness for refugee and other children in Jordan.
The principles of the best interest of the child and survivor-centred approach will continue to be applied by UNHCR and partners in order to prevent early marriage and other forms of SGBV, as well as support individual case management, community-based strategies, provision of psychosocial services, health (including reproductive health), cash assistance, and legal aid. The capacity of the Government of Jordan will be built to implement child protection/SGBV SOPs, alternative care procedures, and clinical management of rape protocols. Capacity building of national partners, including Government institutions such as the MoSD, FPD and NCFA will continue in 2017, with a view to increasingly integrate refugee child protection response into national protection systems. Awareness raising and training on PSEA and LGBTI will also be undertaken. Two safe shelters will target survivors of SGBV and human trafficking, including boys from 12-17 year old (which was a gap in service provision until 2016). In order to ensure accurate, safe and confidential SGBV and child protection data sharing, UNHCR will continue to develop and implement the online GBVIMS and CPIMS linked to ProGres.
UNHCR will continue to co-chair the national child protection sub-working group together with UNICEF and the SGBV sub-working group with UNFPA, but work towards greater integration of refugee coordination structures with national and Governmental coordination structures. Key partners will be FPD, MoSD (safe shelter), Sharia Court, NCFA, ARDD-Legal Aid, NHF, JRF, IRC, IMC, UNFPA, and UNICEF. UNHCR will increasingly seek to increase the capacity of national partners, including through the development of national standards (with MoSD and NCFA) and explore opportunities for improving legislation, policy and practice with regards to SGBV, domestic violence and early marriage.
UNHCR will aim at improving access to services for refugees who live in isolation or in marginalized situations, including people with restricted movements, people with disabilities, LGBTI individuals, and residents of informal tented settlements and strengthening PSEA and complaint mechanisms.