Associate External Relations and Reporting Officer

Details

Mission and objectives

UNHCR's primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. In its efforts to achieve this objective, UNHCR strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, and to return home voluntarily.

Context

The Office of the UNHCR 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 re-solve 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). Repeated cycles of violence and conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) have had spill over effects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with the two countries sharing a 1,500km border. In 2021, UNHCR biometrically registered 73,645 CAR refu-gees and asylum-seekers who had fled violence and insecurity following the 2020 presi-dential election, seeking safety in northern DRC. Small population movements involving people fleeing ongoing disarmament operations by the CAR government and its allies, or inter-ethnic conflicts in some prefectures of CAR causing forced displacements con-tinue to be reported by local authorities. As of 31 May 2022, about 209,495 CAR refu-gees have found refuge in the DRC. About 25 per cent of all CAR refugees live in five camps, while 75 per cent are spread across remote and hard-to-reach border villages in the provinces of North Ubangi (114,792), Bas Uele (49,305) and South Ubangi (44,910), while about 400 others are in the capital - Kinshasa and a couple of other provinc-es. In 2021, UNHCR and partners began implementing the alternative to camps policy that aligns with the Global Compact on Refugees. This policy seeks to strengthen pro-tection and assistance to refugees as well as support the communities hosting them through a series of activities aimed at improving access to social and economic ser-vices. In line with this policy, UNHCR has identified 10 villages in North and South Ubangi provinces to serve as development hubs. Four of these hubs are progressively being operationalized. They are Sidi, Nzakara, Wenze and Modale to which a total of about 16,404 refugees have already been relocated. UNHCR and partners have also continued to pursue durable solutions for CAR refugees in northern DRC, notably through voluntary repatriations since 2019. As of 30 June 2022, about 13,998 persons have been repatriated from Inke, Mole and Boyabu camps in North Ubangi and South Ubangi to parts of CAR where the security situation has been confirmed as stable. UN-HCR plans to facilitate returns for 20,000 persons in 2022. About 3,344 refugees have already gone back home since the relaunch of the operation in May. The Sub-Office manages one Field Office in Libenge, one Field Office in Yakoma et one Field Unit in Bili with approximatively 80 workforce.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Sub Office, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: • Keep abreast all developments in operations to prepare appropriate briefings and reports. • Prepare periodic reports, i.e. donor updates, internal sitreps, briefing notes for senior managers, and activity-specific reports as required. • Prepare funding submissions for donors, and draft any required after-action reports. • Develop and maintain working relationships with the government, NGOs, and UN agencies to ensure cooperation in inter-related activities. • Support the UNHCR-led Cluster activities by preparing and distributing minutes, assisting in the organization of meetings; occasionally chairing meetings, and serving as the general secretariat for the relevant Cluster. • Support the supervisor in preparation for meetings and missions drafting of talking points. • Organize and accompany missions for VIP visitors, delegates to visit refugee sites or the activities of UNHCR implementing partners. • If there is no Public Information (PI) focal point in country, serve as PI focal point, contributing to and coordinating press events, interviews, PI missions and other activities related to information dissemination to the general public to promote UNHCR activities.