Attachments
SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS:
- Access to territory, asylum and respect for basic rights
• Registration: some 1,366 Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR in the reporting period representing a decrease of 38% from the previous month. Majority of the newly registered are from Al hassakeh (66.5%) and Aleppo (18%). Similarly, 461 new births were recorded and some 204 identified with specific needs representing a decrease of 27% and 33% respectively from the previous month.
• Arrivals: According to information received from Peshkabour border authorities, some 5,133 Syrians arrived in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I) through the border crossing representing a decrease of 22% from the previous month. This includes 1,316 admitted on 15 day entry visa for humanitarian reasons and 3,817 readmitted after previously being allowed by the authorities to return to Syria.
• Protection Monitoring: A total of 726 household level protection assessments were conducted for 2,608 Syrian refugees resulting in referrals namely multipurpose cash assistance for 381 cases, winterisation kits for 90 cases, legal assistance for 58 cases and registration with UNHCR for 105 cases.
• Resettlement: Amidst decreased quota for resettlement opportunities in Iraq and in the region, the resettlement unit continued to carry out pre-assessments with a view of identifying eligible cases for further resettlement processing as well as counselling of refugees to ensure transparency and clarity on the resettlement process through the resettlement information line and or face to face meetings.
- Community-Based Protection
UNHCR and partners carried out Participatory Assessment (PA) for refugees and IDPs in KR-I in September 2017. The PA was formulated with commitment from participating agencies who developed the methodology, inquired into the root causes for protection gaps as well as identification of specific capacities and opportunities within communities, including relevant stakeholders already working in communities.
In Duhok Governorate, to combat desertification and maintain a healthy environment,
UNHCR is advocating with partners for the innovative Cocoon’s planting technology that enables trees and plants to grow in arid conditions.
A joint mission by UNHCR, the Forestry Directorate and the Faculty of Agriculture in Duhok visited Zawita sub-district to identify the potential site for the pilot project.
200 Cocoons were donated by Land Life Company to support a quick impact project (QIP) in Zanita and Domiz 1 refugee camp. Support to the project continues from other partners such as Rwanga Foundation. The three communities (Refugees, IDPs and Host Community) will benefit from cash for work in the course of project implementation.
- Sexual and Gender Based Violence
Preparations for 16 days of activism for elimination of violence against women campaign started in KR-I. All Field Offices submitted their list of activities with their SGBV partners for purposes of consolidating a KR-I wide programme of activities. To ensure inclusive and high quality of campaign materials in the campaigns, a one UN approach was adopted and a taskforce identified for implementation.