Middle East and North Africa

2012 Regional Operations Profile - Middle East and North Africa

Working environment

In early 2011, extensive anti-government protests spread rapidly throughout the Middle East and North Africa region, causing political change in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, and unprecedented unrest in other parts of the region. In Libya, the crisis developed into armed conflict, and by the end of September 2011, well over a million people had left Libya, mainly for Egypt and Tunisia and, to a lesser extent, other neighbouring countries and southern Europe. In addition, it is estimated that more than 200,000 people became internally displaced within Libya itself.

At the request of the Tunisian and Egyptian Governments, UNHCR mounted a relief effort at their borders with Libya within the first few weeks of the emergency. Supporting the efforts of concerned countries to evacuate their nationals, UNHCR chartered more than 115 aircrafts as part of the joint IOM/UNHCR Humanitarian Evacuation operation for third-country nationals. Meanwhile, UNHCR and its partners in Libya continued to maintain telephone hotlines, and provide some assistance and counselling to refugees who were not able to relocate or have no access to basic services. Furthermore, UNHCR is also assisting internally displaced persons (IDPs) inside Libya, including through the distribution of non-food items.

It is expected that as the conditions in Libya stabilize, a large number of those displaced will be able to return home. Efforts in 2012 will focus on long-term solutions for the remaining people of concern at the Libyan borders with Egypt and Tunisia, while UNHCR will also endeavour to meet the protection and assistance needs of refugees, IDPs and returnees inside the country. In Iraq, as of June 2011, more than a million people were still displaced throughout the country, many of whom live in squalid conditions. UNHCR and the Government of Iraq are working on the Government's Comprehensive Plan to address displacement, expected to be fully operational in 2012.

UNHCR's strategy in Iraq will involve a gradual increase towards return and reintegration activities inside the country. The Government of Iraq will continue to receive UNHCR's support to prepare the ground for the safe and dignified return of Iraqis, particularly from major refugee-hosting countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic.

Yemen was no exception to popular protest movements in the region. Large demonstrations took place across the country, especially in the major urban areas. The resulting violence increased displacement. As of September 2011 some 100,000 new IDPs had been registered in Aden by the Government. This is in addition to the more than 300,000 IDPs from Sa'ada Governorate in the north of the country displaced by fighting between Government forces and the Al Houthi rebels.

Despite the prolonged political instability in Yemen, the number of new arrivals in the country from the Horn of Africa has increased. As of September 2011, some 72,000 people had reached the Yemeni coast. The total number of Somali refugees who arrived in Yemen over the past two decades is more than 200,000. It is assumed that many of these new arrivals have left Yemen for other destinations. A registration exercise is being carried out by the Yemeni authorities with UNHCR's support to determine the number of refugees who have remained in the country. Most of these new arrivals during 2011 were Ethiopians, but there was also a significant increase in the number of Somalis fleeing drought and famine in their homeland. In 2012, assistance to refugees and IDPs will involve the provision of protection and assistance, including shelter, non-food items, food, health care, water and sanitation.

The Sahrawi refugees in the Tindouf camps in Algeria continue to receive basic protection and assistance, now with the aid of an expanded UNHCR field presence in all camp locations. The Confidence-Building Measures (CBM) programme moved forward with the resumption of family visits in January 2011, a reconnaissance mission by road to find an alternative to air travel, and a first seminar with participants from the refugee camps and the Territory.

In Mauritania, refugee returns from Senegal will resume as soon as possible, especially after the agreement with the Mauritanian Government, paving the way for the return of the residual refugees in Senegal. At the same time, work on a national asylum law is making steady progress. In Morocco, UNHCR continues to build its partnership with the Government for the protection of urban refugees. Israel continues to receive a significant number of migrants and asylum-seekers from sub-Saharan African countries who arrive via Egypt, crossing at the Sinai border.

Strategic priorities in 2012

Ensure protection and humanitarian assistance for all people of concern in the region, with a particular focus on refugees in urban settings

UNHCR will seek to maintain and, where possible, improve the protection space for all people of concern, actively seek comprehensive solutions for them, and maintain preparedness to cope with new crises. This will be achieved through partnership and engagement with States, regional and intergovernmental institutions and civil society. UNHCR's urban refugee policy will continue to improve self-reliance and access to social services and registration of asylum-seekers.

Deliver protection and assistance, and achieve comprehensive solutions for people of concern in the Iraq situation

In cooperation with the Government of Iraq and governments of neighbouring countries hosting Iraqi refugees, UNHCR will strive to ensure that refugees, IDPs and returnees are able to enjoy their fundamental rights. The hundreds of thousands of IDPs living in dismal conditions need either to be integrated in their areas of displacement or have access to all basic services in their areas of return. UNHCR will reinforce its partnership with the Government of Iraq to implement the Comprehensive Plan to address displacement by 2012. It will advocate for durable solutions for communities affected by displacement, such as community-based integration projects and allocation of land. UNHCR will also coordinate the delivery of shelter, water and sanitation to these groups of vulnerable people.

Reach people of concern in mixed migratory movements to bridge protection gaps and ensure asylum space, particularly in Yemen and North Africa

UNHCR will support the establishment of national asylum systems through targeted training, technical support and contributions to joint policies and planning. It will seek to boost partnerships with States, governmental and non-governmental organizations and national institutions to create regional strategies to tackle mixed migration movements. In addition to promoting protection, it will explore means of engaging with the authorities on the return of people not in need of protection. The 10-Point Plan of Action will serve as the framework for the protection of refugees in mixed migratory movements.

Continue humanitarian activities for the Sahrawi refugees, and contribute to the international community's efforts to resolve the long-standing conflict

Based on the positive results achieved so far in 2011, UNHCR will pursue the implementation of the CBM programme, in consultation with all parties. The possibility of increasing the number of family visits, including by road, will continue to be explored.

Support and build the capacity of governments to create asylum systems and procedures in line with international refugee law and other humanitarian principles

UNHCR will build on the momentum created by requests of several governments in the region for support in drafting national asylum laws, strengthen communication and partnership with the authorities, and assist in establishing efficient asylum and migration management structures. Capacity-building initiatives will be implemented targeting government and civil society institutions.

Build and consolidate strategic partnerships with governments, regional organizations and civil society to increase respect for the rights of people of concern to UNHCR, and mobilize resources for humanitarian assistance

In the Middle East and North Africa, UNHCR is working to reinforce its partnership with the Gulf States, with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the League of Arab States, the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, civil society institutions and prominent individuals. Efforts to hold an OIC Ministerial Conference on Refugees and IDPs in the Muslim world in 2012 have been given fresh impetus. UNHCR will continue to work with UNRWA in areas where the mandates of the two agencies are complementary, providing assistance to Palestinian refugees in certain countries.

Increase preparedness and response capacity to cope with new emergencies in the region, while ensuring the basic safety of all staff

Against the backdrop of current emergencies, sustained efforts will continue to be deployed in order to maintain the preparedness and response capacity of all UNHCR's operations in the Middle East and North Africa. This will require close monitoring of developments, updating contingency plans and building emergency staff capacity.

Identify and monitor protection gaps affecting stateless persons and assisting governments to prevent and reduce statelessness

Advocacy and capacity-building among local counterparts and stakeholders continue to be a priority. UNHCR will coordinate the identification of such partners as well as training on specific issues at the country or regional level. Support and expertise will be mobilized through sharing best practices with governments in the region.

Challenges

The Middle East and North Africa region is experiencing a period of unprecedented political and social change which is having a significant impact on UNHCR's humanitarian operations. The current unrest, combined with poverty, unemployment, and social inequality, could lead to a long period of instability and uncertainty.

Furthermore, ongoing irregular and mixed flows of migrants and asylum-seekers, protracted refugee situations and weak asylum systems add to the challenges confronting UNHCR.

Financial information

Since 2006, the budget for the Middle East and North Africa has risen steadily, reaching USD 621 million in 2010, mainly due to growing needs among Iraqi refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The initial 2011 budget of USD 552 million was increased to more than USD 646 million during the second quarter of the year, mainly in response to the emergency in Libya, and to provide assistance to the hundreds of thousands of people pouring into the frontier areas of Egypt and Tunisia.

The 2012 budget for the region totals some USD 565 million. Before the Libya crisis, UNHCR operations in Libya and Tunisia were managing relatively small refugee populations with limited presence and staffing. As a result of the crises, the number of beneficiaries, as well as assistance and staffing needs, have grown substantially. However, there is a reduction in the budgets for Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic due to a reduced shelter budget for IDPs in Iraq and the decline in the number of beneficiaries in the Syrian Arab Republic.

UNHCR 2012-2013 budget for the Middle East and North Africa (USD)
Operations	2011 Revised budget	2012					2013
		Refugee prog. PILLAR 1	Stateless prog. PILLAR 2	Reinte- gration projects PILLAR 3	IDP projects PILLAR 4	Total
Total	646,953,171	360,609,495	3,189,456	29,914,264	171,805,874	565,519,089	480,810,578
[1] From 2012, Egypt will be a Regional Office and is reported as part of the North Africa subregion.
NORTH AFRICA
Algeria	25,779,823	25,499,999	0	0	0	25,499,999	25,500,000
Egypt Regional Office [1]	53,571,401	19,657,759	68,890	0	0	19,726,649	20,205,100
Libya	18,219,281	14,336,878	0	0	16,925,724	31,262,602	20,000,000
Mauritania	7,185,528	7,778,366	0	0	0	7,778,366	4,200,000
Morocco	2,626,840	2,761,868	0	0	0	2,761,868	2,761,867
Tunisia	27,280,848	34,471,589	0	0	0	34,471,589	24,130,099
Western Sahara	12,305,208	13,222,319	0	0	0	13,222,319	13,156,679
Subtotal	146,968,929	117,728,778	68,890	0	16,925,724	134,723,392	109,953,745
MIDDLE EAST
Iraq	210,598,239	29,959,528	1,102,037	29,914,264	129,524,172	190,500,000	143,500,000
Israel	2,782,934	3,127,545	0	0	0	3,127,545	2,796,607
Jordan	43,620,558	42,522,390	0	0	0	42,522,390	38,000,000
Lebanon	14,399,303	12,076,970	314,011	0	0	12,390,982	12,356,500
Saudi Arabia Regional Office	4,063,149	4,087,894	182,801	0	0	4,270,695	3,500,000
Syrian Arab Republic	118,179,121	94,029,983	495,299	0	0	94,525,282	87,400,000
United Arab Emirates	3,055,460	3,634,944	126,418	0	0	3,761,362	3,606,284
Yemen	60,067,394	34,341,463	0	0	25,355,979	59,697,441	59,697,441
Regional activities	43,218,085	19,100,000	900,000	0	0	20,000,000	20,000,001
Subtotal	499,984,242	242,880,717	3,120,566	29,914,264	154,880,150	430,795,697	370,856,833

Source: UNHCR Global Appeal 2012-2013