Activities in Israel

Objectives

• Legal and policy framework: Advocating for legislative changes to ensure that asylum-seekers or persons with international protection needs have access to and enjoy basic rights in line with the 1951 Refugee Convention and human rights treaties.
• Refugee Status Determination (RSD): Facilitating access to asylum procedures (individual determination or alternative means of processing) and improvement of current asylum procedures and decisions, including access to the Administrative Appeals Tribunals and Administrative District Courts.
• Access to basic services: Ensuring that asylum-seekers, refugees and persons with international protection needs have access to basic services and are treated in line with international refugee and human rights law.
• Support to communities: Improving reception capacity and assistance to asylum-seeker communities in Tel Aviv and periphery.

Main activities – UNHCR

Supervisory responsibility

UNHCR systematically monitors laws, regulations and policies to analyze their impact on asylum-seekers and to ensure access to basic Convention Rights. Where relevant, UNHCR provides legal advice and shares its observations and comments with the relevant Ministries and the Knesset.

Following the handover of responsibility for asylum-seeker and refugee registration and refugee status determination (RSD) to the Government of Israel in July 2009, UNHCR engages in the monitoring of refugee status determination conducted by the Ministry of Interior. Where relevant, individual assessments, country of origin information or opinions on the interpretation of the refugee definition or other elements are provided by UNHCR.

UNHCR undertakes regular monitoring of detention and detention-like facilities (Saharonim, Givon and Holot), through weekly missions in order to identify asylum-seekers, including victims of trafficking and torture, and to ensure access to asylum procedures and adequate care and treatment. Where applicable, interventions for release are made.

Advocacy

UNHCR Israel continues advocacy efforts aimed at improving the current protection environment, in particular, strengthening adherence of legislation to international refugee and human rights law. Additionally, UNHCR Israel works to develop a more robust and effective subsidiary protection framework for Eritreans (mainly deserters and draft evaders) and certain groups from Sudan which would go beyond the current group protection, which consists primarily of a 2(a)5 conditional release visa and informal access to the labour market.

Further, advocacy is focused on preventing implementation of the envisaged policy on forced relocation of “infiltrators” to third countries, unless protection safeguards are in place and respected. These safeguards include access to asylum procedures, basic services, protection from detention and deportation by the country of destination.

With partners and leaders of the asylum-seeker community, UNHCR engages in joint advocacy efforts to encourage Eritrean and Sudanese asylum-seekers to file for asylum through raising awareness of the need and benefits of doing so and providing information and advice on the asylum process.

Capacity Building

UNHCR provides ongoing training and support to Government officials and judges on asylum-related issues such as international refugee and human rights law, refugee status determination procedures and improving the asylum environment.

Legal advice and support

UNHCR provides advice and support to lawyers and civil society actors on a variety of issues concerning rights of persons in need of international protection. Additionally, it promotes knowledge on refugee law through lawyers’ training, conferences and cooperation with university programmes. UNHCR is also active in the expansion of a pro-bono network of lawyers assisting individual asylum-seekers.

Support of communities

UNHCR continues to advocate for the government to assume responsibility for the most vulnerable persons of concern. Until this gap is filled, UNHCR Tel Aviv through its partners will continue to provide assistance for essential services and basic needs. This work includes facilitating access to legal and para-legal services, psychosocial support, educational courses, individual and vulnerable group advocacy efforts, medical services, specialized psycho-social support for vulnerable women and children, limited cash support and more. Further, UNHCR reaches out to asylum-seeker groups living in the periphery in order to support them to better interact with local authorities and residents.

Awareness-raising of who refugees are and why they are here in the country

UNHCR undertakes targeted awareness-raising activities to increase public knowledge of who refugees are and why they are here in the country, in addition to combating xenophobia and racism.

Durable Solutions

UNHCR pursues durable solutions at three levels:

• UNHCR promotes large-scale, organized voluntary repatriation when conditions are considered conducive to return in safety and with dignity, and when the chances for a sustainable solution are good, including access to return areas in the country of origin. For example, when the wars in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote D’Ivoire ended, UNHCR undertook a proper assessment of the conditions there and issued guidance with respect to return in safety and dignity. UNHCR encouraged and assisted the returns of the majority of these citizens who lived under group protection in Israel. However, UNHCR facilitated requests for asylum for those refugees who felt that in their circumstances they still needed protection; only a few were determined to be refugees as safe return was not possible.
• UNHCR facilitates the resettlement of hundreds of vulnerable refugees without status in Israel through lobbying with resettlement countries, issuance of resettlement profiles, conduct of individual assessments and presenting cases to resettlement countries (including the U.S., Sweden and Canada).
• UNHCR supports asylum-seeker and refugee communities who are under longer-term group protection to facilitate their living here in Israel until they can return in safety and dignity. In particular, UNHCR and its partners guide asylum-seekers to better understand the ethnic make-up of Israeli society and culture, relevant laws and obligations applicable to asylum-seekers and refugees, as well as which organizations and institutions can be approached for assistance. In addition, support is also provided so that asylum-seekers can take better care of their own communities – for example, through leadership trainings; workshops on the prevention and response to gender-based violence, including on domestic violence; awareness of the importance of obtaining children’s health insurance.