REGIONAL OVERVIEW
3RP AT A GLANCE
The Syria crisis has displaced more than 5.2 million Syrian refugees into Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, in an overall situation that is becoming increasingly protracted. The security situation inside Syria is still fluid, and complex patterns of displacement continue, increasing the protection needs of an already vulnerable population in countries of asylum. The Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) continues to be the regional coordination and planning tool to address the humanitarian and resilience needs of Syrian refugees and host communities in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt.
The 3RP is a nationally-led, regionally coherent framework which includes the Lebanon Crisis Response (LCRP) as the Lebanon chapter, the Jordan Response Plan (JRP) as the Jordan chapter, and the country chapters of Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. All country plans are developed, coordinated, and implemented with the full involvement of the respective governments. This Progress Report is intended to take stock of the interagency (UN and NGO) response to date during 2017, as well as inform planning for next year’s response.
REFUGEE PROTECTION IN THE 3RP
3RP partners continued to promote access to safety and non-refoulement, the strengthening of national protection systems, specialized protection responses for persons at particular risk and those with specific needs, and access to durable solutions. The response emphasised support to national protection systems, sustained interagency coordination, engagement with communities that are partners in protection, and the strengthening of data management to ensure the response remains grounded in evidence.
Ensuring continued access to safety and non-refoulement remains a regional challenge. In the first half of 2017, there were no largescale new arrivals to the refugee hosting countries in the region. Borders remain managed, limiting the ability of many individuals to seek the international protection they need. Across 3RP countries, limited livelihoods opportunities, compounded by increased indebtedness and the exhaustion of savings, further exacerbated protection risks and negative coping mechanisms.
In response, 3RP partners developed a range of complementary initiatives to address the links between socio-economic vulnerability and protection risks. These included efforts to expand the targeting and reach of cash-based interventions (CBI), including those targeted at preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and child protection issues, and concerted advocacy to increase access to labour markets, dignified livelihoods opportunities, and vocational training, and to secure residency status. Coordination among 3RP partners also resulted in the development of regional and global tools to address specific protection challenges such as child marriage and child labour.
Recognising the vital role of individuals and communities in addressing protection needs, efforts were expanded to promote community-based protection approaches across all sectors. 3RP partners supported a range of community-led initiatives, including those initiated by adolescents and youth, older persons, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) persons, and community groups. 3RP partners launched a new set of community mapping tools to help operations to better identify and harness community assets, capacities, and aspirations, while providing increased support and awareness-raising on issues such as child protection, SGBV, access to services, civil status documentation, and identification and referral to service providers.
Partners emphasised strengthening Age, Gender and Diversity-sensitive frameworks for protection, assistance and solutions as an overarching guiding principle to reach all persons of concern including women, girls and boys, older persons, and persons with disabilities. To enhance the inclusivity and accessibility of services for all persons of concern, partners completed a range of projects to strengthen gender-sensitive programming in the region. This includes the completion of regional research on how to address conflict-related sexual violence against Syrian boys and men in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, and the finalisation of a report mapping good practices in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt on promoting gender equality in all sectors of the 3RP response.
With just under 2.5 million Syrian refugees under 18 years of age across the region, child protection remained a cornerstone of the 3RP response. In 2017, a regional a technical interagency consultation was convened to examine and address the situation of unaccompanied and separated Syrian children in need of family tracing and reunification. Multi-sectoral efforts to uphold children’s rights to family life and family reunification, including efforts increase access to birth registration, will continue to be a priority. 3RP partners also developed updated analyses on the need for civil status documentation, noting that coordinated and principled responses are required as a priority to prevent childhood statelessness, uphold women’s rights and security, promote family unity and reunification, facilitate the enjoyment of housing, land and property (HLP) rights, and enhance access to durable solutions.
In 2017, efforts focused on building the capacity of national systems and the provision of legal assistance, paired with national, regional and global advocacy and partnerships. 3RP partners also recognised that programming and advocacy to increase access to civil status documentation must be sustained and prioritized going forward, given the vital role that legal documentation plays in enabling refugees to better cope with the effects of displacement.
These efforts were complemented by initiatives to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The provision of these services was made more efficient through interagency coordination mechanisms that are in place and functioning in all 3RP operations. In 2017, the operations improved the identification and referral of survivors and persons at risk of SGBV through enhanced community mobilisation and engagement, including through community centres, refugee outreach volunteers (ROVs), and peer-topeer awareness raising. Key advocacy areas included the strengthening of health sector responses to SGBV, including the clinical management of rape (CMR), and technical support to help bring national legal frameworks in line with international standards. 3RP partners also provided capacity building for national NGOs and local authorities, while strengthening and formalizing cooperation with relevant ministries and State institutions. Achievements were notable in relation to gender mainstreaming and integration across all sectors, with Jordan recognized as a global model after establishing the Sector Gender Focal Point Network as a multi-sector response that strengthens gender-sensitive analysis, planning, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting.