UNHCR-NGO 2022 Quarterly Consultations

The overall objective of those quarterly Consultations is to support an enabling environment for NGOs and UNHCR to exchange on operational, policy and advocacy priorities in a safe space.

Going beyond the information-sharing focus and the usual panel and Q&A format, the perspectives provided by participants aim to strengthen the policymaking processes at the stages of conception, drafting, impact assessment, decision-making, as well as monitoring and evaluation of policy implementation, when appropriate. It is also aimed to have some impact through manageable and prioritized follow-up action points.

The aim of the Consultations is to:

• Lead to concrete and lively exchanges between UNHCR and NGOs, sometimes inclusive of other actors;
• Link to ongoing policy and strategy developments (e.g. UNHCR policies developed/reviewed in 2021 and/or 2022 and which would benefit from NGO inputs);
• Link to major global initiatives and processes (e.g. related to the Global Refugee Forum);
• Link to operational aspects, particularly in engaging NGOs in the operationalization of specific policies and strategies or in discussing – at global level – coordination and implementing partnerships issues;
• Connect to past discussions such as those organized in 2020 around the COVID-19 situation and those organized in 2021 on a monthly basis as well as to upcoming discussions such as in the framework of the 2022 UNHCR-NGO Global Consultations;
• Lead to collective recommendations and/or follow-up actions.

On this page, you will find:

• A list of past Consultations and an executive summary of each session;
• Public background materials and guidance documents related to the topics discussed;
• A list of topics for future Consultations (available soon);
• Guidance on how to participate in the Consultations;
• An information note on the background, participation criteria and logistics of the Quarterly Consultations with NGOs;
• Notes and the presentations of our panellists are sent by e-mail to registered participants. Requests for the notes and presentations can be made by e-mail to [email protected].

Past sessions:

• Link to 2020 sessions
• Link to 2021 sessions

Participation criteria

In keeping with the longstanding participation approach applicable to the UNHCR-NGO Global Consultations, NGOs who wish to attend and contribute to those consultations should meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Be an implementing partner of UNHCR in 2021/2022
• Be an NGO collaborating with UNHCR (including operational partners and Refugee/PoC-Led Organizations) with a demonstrated interest in the solution to the problem of refugees, internally displaced persons and/or statelessness and/or in the themes of the consultations;
• Be a member of ICVA
• Have consultative status with ECOSOC (UN Economic and Social Council) with a demonstrated interest in the solution to the problem of refugees, internally displaced persons and/or statelessness and/or in the themes of the consultations;

Other actors (e.g. academia representatives, sports associations, etc.) may be allowed to join.

If your NGO fulfils one or more criteria above, kindly send an email explaining why you wish to attend and contribute to the UNHCR-NGO Quarterly Consultations to [email protected]. The email subject must include “Participation in UNHCR-NGO Quarterly Consultations -Name of Organization”.

Session 4: UNHCR's engagement with Development Banks (9 November)

Session 1 Civil society and UNHCR’s engagement in strengthening access to justice

Speakers

• Gillian Triggs, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, UNHCR
• Olga Vorontsova-Mykhailova, Legal Advisor (Refugee Status Determination), DIP Policy and Law Service, UNHCR
• Carole Simone Dahan, Senior Legal Advisor, PPLA, Division of International Protection, UNHCR
• Jasmine Simperingham, Global Project Coordinator – Forced Displacement, PILnet
• Ibrahim Abousenna, Director, Refugee Legal Aid Program, St Andrew's Refugee Services (StARS)

The consultation focused on the importance of ensuring legal aid and access to justice for forcibly displaced people. It was done particularly through looking at the progress made in implementing relevant Global Refugee Forum pledges, where civil society including law firms, NGOs, and RLOs work together and ensure legal assistance and legal empowerment for forcibly displaced populations and stateless people. In addition, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the increasing role of RLOs in providing legal support and broader work to access justice efforts was emphasized. Participants joined the discussion and asked questions related to Access to Justice.

See the programme here.

Presentations and other background material For participants only. If you want to access these documents, please contact the Partnership and Coordination Service: [email protected]

Session 2 Co-designing UNHCR-NGO Recommendations on Localization and Climate Action

Speakers

• Edmund Page, CEO & Founder, COHERE
• Barbara Essig, Policy Expert, International Displacement Monitoring Centre
• Isabelle Michal, Protection Officer, Climate Change, UNHCR

The objective of this Quarterly Consultations was to present and discuss the set of preliminary recommendations for the 2022 UNHCR Global Consultations with NGOs that will take place from 7 to 10 June, in a hybrid format in Geneva and online. Several suggestions were provided on the preliminary draft of the recommendations, to refine it inter alia on languages, meaningful decision-making and representation of the forcibly displaced population, and specific stakeholders targeted for the recommendations. Additional background information and questions related to the agenda and the format of the Global Consultations were also discussed.

See the programme here.

Presentations and other background material For participants only. If you want to access these documents, please contact the Partnership and Coordination Service: [email protected]

Session 3 Refugee Coordination and Engagement with NGOs

Speakers

• Zeina Zouein, Deputy Country Director – Head of Programs, IRC Lebanon
• Sara Baschetti, Chief of Inter-Agency and Coordination Section, Partnership and Coordination Service, UNHCR.
• Mohammed Idriss, Deputy Country Director Alight Sudan.

The objective of the Quarterly Consultations was to raise awareness and understanding among NGOs about the process and purpose of the Refugee Coordination Model (RCM) and the Refugee Response Plan (RRP), in particular in the current 2023 planning phase. UNHCR coordinates operational response in 44 refugee-hosting countries, through six Regional Refugee Response Plans including in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Syria (the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan), Venezuela (the Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan), and most recently Ukraine. In addition, there are also Country Plans for Chad, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sudan and UNHCR co-leads with IOM the Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh. The exchange was built upon UNHCR’s mandate in refugee coordination and the added value for NGOs to engage in the Refugee Response Plan.

See the programme here.

Presentations and other background material For participants only. If you want to access these documents, please contact the Partnership and Coordination Service: [email protected]

Session 4 UNHCR's engagement with Development Banks

Speakers

• Ms. Khadra Elmi, Senior Policy Officer, GCR Coordination Team (UNHCR) 
• Mr. Sajjad Malik, Director of the Division of Resilience and Solutions (UNHCR)
• Ms. Jade Ndiaye, Senior Operations Officer on Forced Displacement for the Fragility, Conflict and Violence Unit (World Bank)
• Ms. Lilian Achieng Otiego, Senior Development Officer (UNHCR Uganda). 

The objective of this Quarterly Consultation was to update NGOs on UNHCR’s approaches to partnerships with development actors, with particular focus on multilateral development banks and how it supports strengthening development cooperation to advance protection, inclusion and solutions for refugees, internally displaced persons, and stateless persons. This was an opportunity for NGOs to better understand UNHCR’s strategic partnership with the World Bank including the IDA Window for Host Communities and Refugees (WHR) and Global Concessional Financing Facility (GCFF), as well as the Joint Data Center (JDC). This consultation also reinforced the fact that forced displacement is both a humanitarian and development challenge, particularly in protracted situations, requiring a long-term development approach including policy reforms and the inclusion of the forcibly displaced in national systems, as highlighted through Uganda’s case.

See the programme here.

Presentations and other background material For participants only. If you want to access these documents, please contact the Partnership and Coordination Service: [email protected]