Project Location: Northern part of Cyprus
Brief Background of the Project:
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 continuing division of the country, however, the EU acquis remains suspended in the northern part of the country, including in the fields of asylum and migration, and there is no system in place locally for the identification and registration of persons in need of international protection and determining their status.
Goal/Objective, Expected Outcome and Main Activities:
The UNHCR project in the northern part of Cyprus in 2017 has two overall objectives. The first is to ensure that refugees and asylum-seekers arriving in the northern part of Cyprus in whatever manner are promptly identified and protected against forcible return, directly or indirectly, to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened (the cardinal principle of non-refoulement). Once identified, such persons should have unhindered access to the available national asylum procedures and treated in accordance with established international and European standards.
The second objective of the project is to ensure the self-reliance and integration of the few refugees present in the north (80 persons as of 30 June 2016) by helping them access available vocational training programmes, language classes and literacy programmes. The implementing partner will also provide employment counselling, cultural orientation, etc.
The pursuit and achievement of both objectives would require effective partnerships with refugee assisting NGOs to regularly monitor and intervene where necessary to meet the needs of individual refugees and asylum-seekers.
Intended Population of Concern: Refugees and asylum-seekers in northern Cyprus
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Project Period: 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017
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Submission Deadline: 12 August 2016 |
Date Decision Results to be Communicated to Applicants: 3 October 2016
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Selection Criteria
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No. |
Criteria Description |
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_5558c2.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