COVID-19: Operational Guidance for Migrant & Displaced Children
COVID-19’s rapid spread poses particular challenges for vulnerable populations, especially migrants and displaced (M&D) children. Over 180 countries – and rising – have identified cases of COVID-19, and migration is often cited as the reason for its spread. It is apparent that certain characteristics of displaced populations such as higher risk of contagion, high mobility, and being difficult to reach, present suitable conditions for a rapid outbreak of COVID-19 – at huge risk to M&D children and to the surrounding communities. It is clear that the cost of not prioritising M&D populations is likely to be catastrophic.
Save the Children’s Programme Framework explicitly recognises the acute vulnerability of migrant and displaced communities and suggests a number of possible programmatic interventions. This paper, developed by the TWG on Protecting the Rights of M&D Children, the MDI and Geneva Advocacy office, aims to provide further complementary analysis, suggested text for proposal and project design, and technical guidance to SC colleagues.
Coronavirus emergency appeal UNHCR’s preparedness and response plan (REVISED)
In light of the unprecedented impact that the COVID-19 outbreak is having across operations worldwide, UNHCR is revising its initial requirements of $33 million and is appealing for an additional $222 million, bringing revised requirements to $255 million to urgently support preparedness and response in situations of forced displacement over the next nine months.
COVID-19 is first and foremost a public health crisis, and within that crisis refugee and other forcibly displaced populations are at greater risk as the pandemic evolves.
UNHCR is focusing on protecting all forcibly displaced populations, prioritizing situations and
contexts—formal and informal—with large populations of refugees, IDPs, stateless persons and
other people of concern to ensure that health and WASH systems and services are shored up,
reinforced and quickly adapted.
http://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/COVID-19%20appeal%20-%20REVISED%20-%20FINAL.pdf
Stop the War on Children
The protection of children in conflict – and with it the realisation of the promises made in the declarations, conventions and statutes of the 20th century – is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century. The nature of conflict – and its impact on children – is evolving.
In today’s armed conflicts, there is often no longer a clearly demarcated battlefield: children’s homes and schools are the battlefield.
Increasingly, the brunt of armed violence and warfare is being borne by children. Children suffer in conflict in different ways to adults, partly because they are physically weaker and also because they have so much at stake – their physical, mental and psychosocial development are heavily dependent on the conditions they experience as children. Conflict affects children differently depending on a number of personal characteristics – significantly gender and age, but also disability status, ethnicity, religion and whether they live in rural or urban locations. The harm that is done to children in armed conflict is not only often more severe than that done to adults, it has longer lasting implications – for children themselves and for their societies
https://www.savethechildren.org/content/dam/usa/reports/ed-cp/stop-the-war-on-children-2019.pdf
Afghanistan Central African Republic Democratic Republic of Congo Global Iraq Mali Nigeria Somalia South Sudan Syria Yemen
Mean Streets: Identifying and Responding to Urban Refugees’ Risks of Gender-Based Violence
Throughout 2015, WRC conducted a research in urban settings, the first phase of a multi-year project to improve the humanitarian communitys understanding of and response to GBV risks in urban contexts. Quito, Ecuador; Beirut, Lebanon; Kampala, Uganda; and Delhi, India, were chosen because they are host to diverse refugee populations, have different policy environments for refugees, and are at different stages of humanitarian response. The project looked separately at the GBV risks of different urban refugee subpopulations: women; children and adolescents; LGBTI individuals; persons with disabilities; and male survivors of sexual violence.
https://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/research-resources/mean-streets/
Comprehensive Attention to Victims of Torture in Cases under Litigation
How do we deal with the issue of victims of torture so that litigation is a healing process per se? How do we provide comprehensive support in their search for justice and truth? Answering these questions is an objective of this book, which presents a review of the question of torture and its consequences with respect to litigation before the inter-American system for the protection of human rights. Our intention, on the one hand, is to emphasize the psychological and social dimensions of acts of torture and, on the other, to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue that would promote a broad perspective that captures the different aspects of this painful and complex reality.
https://www.iidh.ed.cr/IIDH/media/1603/psychosocial-contributions-eng-2009.pdf
Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings
Reading the full IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings from cover to cover may not be possible during an emergency. This limitation led to the development of this field version, which may be used as a check-list for program planning and emergency response. This brief version cannot capture all the important points in the Guidelines. Readers are encouraged to use this field version only in conjunction with the full Guidelines.
http://www.who.int/mental_health/emergencies/IASC_guidelines.pdf
Children and armed conflict: a guide to international humanitarian and human rights law
The update of the Guide on Children and Armed Conflict is a welcome effort to record developments with regard to the normative framework that guides international action on children and armed conflict. The last decade has seen major developments in this regard and the issue of children and armed conflict has united Member States across continents in their determination to take firm action, especially against perpetrators.
http://www.ibcr.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Guide-international-law-2010-english-1.pdf
Inter-Agency Guiding Principles on unaccompanied and separated children
Children separated from their parents and families because of conflict, population displacement or natural disasters are among the most vulnerable. Separated from those closest to them, these children have lost the care and protection of their families in the turmoil, just when they most need them. They face abuse and exploitation, and even their very survival may be threatened. They may assume adult responsibilities, such as protecting and caring for younger sisters and brothers. Children and adolescents who have lost all that is familiar home, family, friends, stability are potent symbols of the dramatic impact of humanitarian crises on individual lives.
https://www.unhcr.org/protect/PROTECTION/4098b3172.pdf
Handbook for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons
The focus of the Handbook is on the protection of IDPs and other affected populations in situations of internal displacement in complex emergencies. Much of the guidance provided may be relevant as well during natural disasters, when internal displacement and protection risks also often arise.
http://www.unhcr.org/4c2355229.html
Do No Harm: Challenges in Organizing Psychosocial Support to Displaced People in Emergency Settings
Psychosocial assistance in emergencies plays an important role in alleviating suffering and promoting well-being, but it is often a source of unintended harm. A prerequisite for ethically appropriate support is awareness of how psychosocial programs may cause harm. This paper underscores the importance of attending to issues of coordination, dependency, politicization of aid, assessment, short-term assistance, imposition of outsider approaches, protection, and impact evaluation.
https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/article/view/21392/20062