UN Youth Volunteer in Refugee Status Determination

Details

Mission and objectives

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org). Egypt is a signatory state to the1951 convention relating to the status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, as well as the 1969 OAU convention governing specific aspects of refugee problems in Africa. In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding of 1954 concluded between UNHCR and the government of Egypt, all activities pertaining to Registration, documentation and refugee status determination are carried out by UNHCR. UNHCR offices in Egypt has offices in Greater Cairo (6th October and Zamalek district) as well as a field office in Alexandria.

Context

Egypt is a signatory to the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and the 1969 OAU Con-vention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa. Pursuant to a 1954 memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Government of Egypt and UNHCR, the UNHCR carries out inter alia Registration, Documentation, and Refugee Status Determina-tion (RSD) under its mandate in the absence of national asylum procedures. Egypt hosts around 539,956 registered refugees and asylum-seekers from 61 nationalities. In line with UNHCR’s RSD strategic direction, the Office takes into consideration the role RSD plays in the broader protection environment and carries out RSD to achieve maximum pro-tection dividends for the largest number of refugees and asylum seekers—based on capacity, while ensuring integrity of the system, including by strict adherence to UNHCR's RSD Proce-dural Guidelines. One of the RSD Unit’s objectives is also to contribute to the Office’s objec-tive to engage in ongoing dialogue with the Egyptian Government on the development of a national asylum framework.

Task description

In order to carry out this work, the UN Volunteer will be properly trained both formally, through available workshops, seminars, e-Learning platforms; and informally through on-the-job training, intensive coaching/mentoring, shadowing other colleagues to familiarize his/herself with the relevant global and local policy and procedures related to RSD activities. The UN Volunteer will be closely supervised by both senior and middle level management within the unit and it is expected that within a few months s/he will have the necessary skills to carry out many of the daily tasks with limited guidance. Under the direct supervision of the RSD Officer, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: - Stay abreast of legal, political, security and other developments relevant to mandate RSD, the protection environment, including developments in relation to national asylum/RSD systems, as applicable. - Learn how to support engagement with relevant national authorities and structures in identifying and expanding opportunities in view of developing or strengthening national asylum/RSD systems. - Learn how to support the quality review of RSD Assessments in line with UNHCR policies/guidelines related to mandate RSD and endorse RSD decisions as required. - Learn how to provide ongoing coaching as well as training on the inclusion criteria; principles/procedures related to exclusion; cancellation/revocation; international humanitarian law; human rights law; interviewing techniques and credibility assessment/establishing the facts; and legal drafting. - Learn how to provide training to other UNHCR units on the refugee criteria and related issues as needed. - Learn how to assist with developing/enhancing regional and global RSD standards and policies, as required. - Learn how to assist with the design and implementation of operation-specific SOPs for all aspects of RSD operations in line with relevant standards/policies, including UNHCR's AGD policy and Forward Plan, ensuring the prioritisation of persons with specific needs, or, if based in a Regional Bureau, provide support to operations on the above. - Monitor trends and systematically compile statistics related to RSD case processing. - Analyze key indicators of the quality and efficiency of decision-making in RSD processing to assess capacity and resource requirements of operations in the region or the operation to which the RSD Officer is assigned. - Contribute to identifying and preventing fraud in RSD through oversight, advice and guidance to UNHCR personnel, partners and persons of concern. - Together with competent host authorities and partners, learn how to contribute to developing processes aiming at developing national institutional capacities and the timely identification of international protection needs in line with the GCR and other key planning considerations. - Perform other related duties as required.