PROBLEM ASSESSMENT: In the north of Yemen, UNHCR handed registration activities to the de facto authorities since 2018, including the ownership of the ProGres database, while continuing to provide technical support and training to the mandated institutions. In August 2019, the authorities suspended all registration and documentation activities without reaching the targets set in the partnership agreement. Some limited pre-registration and registration verification activities were conducted in 2020 but falling short of a full-fledged registration and documentation process. In 2020, UNHCR began negotiations with National Committee for Refugee Affairs (NACRA), as the overall coordination and policy-making body on refugee issues in north of Yemen, and on the more technical side with the Bureau for Refugee Affairs (BRA)in Sana’a to resume the process. As a result of the suspension, it is estimated that ID documents for almost 51,000 refugees and asylum-seekers have expired, effectively making the data ProGres database out of date. As BRA is the data controller for the proGres data in the north, UNHCR currently lacks the capacity to edit data from proGres to update protection events, biodata and allow other case management activities.
In the south, Immigration, Passport and Naturalization Authoritycontinues to conduct registration and documentation for Somali nationals, who are still granted a prima facie status by the authorities. In parallel, UNHCR’s Office in Aden conducts registration and documentation for other, mainly Ethiopians, asylum-seekers and refugees as Somalis are recognised as prima facie refugees and registered as such by the authorities. The lack of verification exercises in urban areas and limited staff capacity remain recurrent challenges for the quality of registration activities. The lack of registration centres at migration entry points in the south of Yemen (Aden, Bab Almandeb, Lahj, Mukalla and Shabwa) and the long distance to travel to dedicated registration centres also represent a challenge for situations of mixed population movements.
COMPREHENSIVE RESPONSE: In the north, UNHCR will continue its efforts to negotiate with NACRA and at a technical level with BRA for a resumption of registration activities in 2021. UNHCR will also advocate with the authorities to conduct a verification exercise and comprehensive data clean-up to ensure accuracy of the ProGres data. UNHCR will also review the existing registration standard operating procedures with BRA, to ensure that registration is conducted according to international standards, while ensuring the protection of personal data in line with the 2018 Memorandum of Understanding on data sharing. In the south, UNHCR will advocate for a verification exercise in urban areas to accurately reflect refugee data. UNHCR will also advocate to expand registration centres at entry points for mixed population groups, while making sure that existing referral pathways from IOM to UNHCR are effective and possibly improved. Countrywide, UNHCR will continue to support authorities in improving the quality of reception and registration through trainings, including on interviewing techniques, joint quality control activities, and data management and analysis. Provided that registration and documentation is resumed countrywide according to standards, UNHCR will prepare for a roll out of proGres V4 and Biometric Identity Management System platforms across the country, which will significantly enhance the integrity and quality of registration data.
PRIORITIZED RESPONSE: Should registration resume in the north, in accordance with consolidated technical standards, approximately 6,500 individuals may be in need to be newly registered and documented, with up to 25,000 refugees and asylum-seekers having their data updated in proGres and their documentation renewed. UNHCR plans to work closely with BRA on updating the data regarding new births, family composition, and spontaneous departures to ensure all fields are correctly updated and specific needs accurately reflected. In the south, some 8,000 new Somali arrivals and 2,000 other asylum-seekers are expected to be registered. Government authorities will be provided with capacity-building and training in this area.