Working environment
Since 2012, UNHCR has registered very few new asylum-seekers in Eritrea. At the beginning of 2016, UNHCR’s total population of concern, including camp-based and urban refugees, was some 2,550 individuals, with 98 per cent of them being Somalis.
UNHCR’s activities in Eritrea are significantly affected by funding constraints, high inflation rates and rising operational costs. In 2017, UNHCR will continue to advocate access to durable solutions for refugees, mainly focusing on voluntary repatriation and resettlement.
Key priorities
In addition to pursuing core protection activities and lifesaving assistance, in 2017 UNHCR will focus on:
- advocating for Eritrea to ratify the OAU Convention and accede to the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol, as well as to adopt a national asylum law and establish a structured asylum system;
- advocating the inclusion of refugees in national development plans and systems (health, education, water and sanitation) as part of the broader UN Strategic Partnership Cooperation Framework 2017-2021 with the Government of Eritrea;
- strengthening child protection and protection of people with specific needs;
- ensuring refugee community mobilization with a view to strengthen peaceful cohabitation and pave ways to local integration as a durable solution;
- continuing to provide food assistance (in-kind and through cash-based interventions) for camp-based Somali refugees, as well as monthly cash grants to Sudanese and South Sudanese urban refugees; and
- expanding opportunities for durable solutions, including voluntary repatriation, resettlement and local integration.
- encouraging the Government of the State of Eritrea to engage further in the Khartoum process so as to stem the flow of migrations from Eritrea by addressing the root causes through development programs under the Strategic Partnership Cooperation Framework for including skills training and creation of job opportunities, capacity building of Government staff and relevant institutions to effectively manage migration in addition to supporting the Government to develop effective policy and legal framework to manage migration.
Funding constraints continue to limit the number of self-reliance activities that can be undertaken for people of concern in Eritrea. Similarly, funding constraints have prevented the construction of child-friendly spaces and recreational facilities in Emkulu camp; and it is anticipated that a number of persons with specific needs, especially those with medical problems, will not have access to necessary health care services due to limited capacity in Eritrea and no possibilities for medical evacuations.