UNHCR established its presence in the Republic of Cyprus in August 1974 upon the request of the Government of Cyprus and the UN Secretary-General to co-ordinate the United Nations humanitarian assistance programmes for some 280,000 Cypriots displaced on both sides as a result of the events of summer 1974. At the same time, UNHCR was also carrying out mandate refugee status determination for a small number of asylum-seekers arriving on the island and pursuing the resettlement of those granted refugee status. Starting in 1998, when boats started to arrive on the island carrying asylum-seekers and economic migrants in larger numbers, UNHCR shifted its primary scope of work to assisting the Government in carrying out refugee status determination under its mandate and promotion of international refugee law. In the lead up to the EU accession, the Republic of Cyprus adopted its first national refugee legislation in 2000 and finally took over from UNHCR the responsibilities for refugee status determination. With the support of UNHCR, the Government has since been engaged in further developing and strengthen its legislative framework and the procedures and capacities for a refugee protection system in accordance with international standards. Assisting the government in this task has remained UNHCR’s fundamental business in Cyprus, as elsewhere in the European Union.
Goal/Objective, Expected Outcome and Main Activities:
The overall goal of this UNHCR project in 2017 is to ensure that asylum seekers in the Republic of Cyprus have access to fair and efficient refugee status determination procedures fully meeting international and European standards; and that refugees, subsidiary protection beneficiaries and asylum-seekers effectively enjoy their rights that are set out in international, European Union and national law. This would require that existing gaps and weaknesses in the national asylum legislation and refugee status determination procedures are addressed; migration management policies incorporate adequate protection safeguards; the national standards for the reception of asylum-seekers fully ensure their wellbeing and dignity; alternatives to detention of asylum-seekers are available in law and implemented in practice; and that measures are put in place to support the effective integration of refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection including family reunification, access to long-term residency and naturalisation. The project also seeks to ensure that unaccompanied and separated children of concern to UNHCR have effective access to the national protection system and. UNHCR’s strategy to achieve this overarching protection and solutions objective would involve a mix of capacity-building, refugee law promotion, advocacy, public awareness/education and partnerships with refugee assisting NGOs to effectively monitor and intervene to meet the needs of individual refugees and asylum-seekers.
Intended Population of Concern: Refugees and asylum-seekers in Cyprus
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Project Period: 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017
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Submission Deadline: 12 August 2016
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Date Decision Results to be Communicated to Applicants: 3 October 2016
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Selection Criteria
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No.
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Criteria Description
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Assigned Weighting (%)
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1
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Project management: ability to deliver project objectives, accountability mechanisms and sound financial management, taking into account the audit results of the previous UNHCR-funded projects, past performance and the external audit of partners’ financial statements, where applicable
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25
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2
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Local experience and presence: ongoing programme in the area of operation; local knowledge; engaging refugees and other persons of concern; trust from local communities; local presence; partner policy on community relations; complaint mechanisms for persons of concern; self-organized groups of persons of concern; and other factors that would facilitate access to and better understanding of the persons of concern and that would reduce administrative difficulties.
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25
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3
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Sector expertise and experience: the required specific skills, sector specialists, knowledge and human resources.
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20
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4
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Contribution of resources: evidenced and documented contribution of resources to the Project in cash or in-kind (e.g. human resources, supplies and/or equipment) by the partner that are presently available (or potentially mobilized by the partner) in order to supplement UNHCR resources.
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10
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5
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Cost effectiveness: level of direct costs and administrative costs imposed on the Project in relation to project deliverables.
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10
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6
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Experience working with UNHCR: global and/or local partnerships including knowledge of UNHCR policies, practices and programmes, including an understanding of and ability to work within UNHCR’s funding limitations and associated inherent risks. Partners that have three consecutive qualified audit opinions for UNHCR-funded projects may not be considered.
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5
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7
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Office premises: Centrality of the location of organization’s office and accessibility to refugees and asylum-seekers; availability and suitability of space/room for receiving and counselling/interviewing refugees and asylum-seekers
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5
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![](http://unhcrcy.net4media-typo3.de/uploads/RTEmagicC_signature_03_txdam1595_0f0ab5.png.png)
If you are interested in responding to this call, please complete and submit to UNHCR, Nicosia, by 12 August 2016, the attached Concept Note and Partner Declaration form.
In addition, all Partners, both new and existing, that will enter into a Partnership Agreement with UNHCR are required to register with the UNHCR Partner Portal. For more information please refer to the Guidance Note on the UNHCR Partner Portal, which has recently been launched by UNHCR and which aims at enhancing communication between Partners and UNHCR.
Documents to be downloaded:
Partner_Portal_Guidance_Note_no__6__002_
Partner Selection Concept Note 002
partner_declaration__003__01