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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR
Rue de Montbrillant 94, 1201 Genève, Switzerland
https://www.unhcr.org/
Established in 1950 after the end of World War 2, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a UN agency mandated to help and protect refugees and internally displaced and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration, or resettlement to a third country.
Whereas the majority of its activities take place in the field (given that 90% of its staff are based on the ground) and include, among other things, the provision of protection, shelter, emergency relief, and repatriation, it also works with political, economic, and social actors to ensure that refugee policies on the national level are enacted and that laws are compliant with international frameworks. Also, the organisation takes on advocacy activities where it works with governments and non-governmental actors to promote best practices and provide assistance to those in need.
As recognition for its work, in 1954, the UNHCR was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Digital activities
The UNHCR’s digital activities centre around its core objective: To aid refugees and displaced persons. The organisation, therefore, has been very active in the area of digital inclusion and digital identity. In this context, the UNHCR, for instance, looks for ways that digital identity can facilitate the protection and empowerment of refugees and asylum-seekers. In addition, the Refugee Agency has conducted substantial work in the field of privacy and data protection and in the transition to online learning to ensure the right to education.
Digital Policy Issues Sociocultural basket
Digital identity
To promote the inclusion of refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), stateless persons, and other vulnerable individuals, the UNHCR focuses a part of its work on digital identity. Within this scope, it published in 2018 its ‘UNHCR Strategy on Digital Identity and Inclusion’. In this document, the UNHCR defines the challenges faced by individuals, and in particular, foreigners, migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees who lack legal identity papers. It highlights the advantages brought about by digitalisation and defines three main objectives for achieving the digital inclusion and digital identity: 1) Empower refugees, stateless, and forcibly displaced persons to access, among other things, the job market, education, and financial services; 2) strengthen states’ capacity to register and document all individuals living on their respective territories and ensure conformity with international standards of data security and privacy; and 3) improve service delivery (e.g. delivery of legal and protection) through the use of the Internet and mobile technologies.
From a practical point of view, the Refugee Agency uses the Population Registration and Identity Management Ecosystem (PRIMES), which gathers the UNHCR’s digital registration, identity management, and case management tools into a single internally connected and interoperable ecosystem. The tool makes use of personal information, including biographic and biometric data, to provide the necessary assistance, protection, and services to refugees and other displaced individuals.
Online education
Online learning plays also features in the UNHCR’s work. In a recent publication titled ‘Supporting Continued Access to Education during COVID-19’, the UNHCR underscored its vital role in advocating for and ensuring the inclusion of refugees in national response plans in order to ensure the continuity of learning. The document sheds light on some of the activities that it has undertaken in light of the health crisis, including the launch of online learning platforms in Jordan as well as related education programmes in Uganda.
In the broader context of online education, in its ‘Education 2030: A Strategy for Refugee Inclusion’, the UNHCR highlights the increasingly important role played by digital technologies and proposes the strengthening of policies and practices to promote the development of digital and transferable skills through connected and blended learning methods. Keeping within its broader approach, in 2016, the UNHCR, together with Arizona State University, initiated the Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium (CLCC). The objective of the initiative is to promote, co-ordinate, and support the provision of quality higher educa-
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tion in the contexts of conflict, crisis, and displacement, and uses information technology to combine face-to-face and online learning.
In the domain of access to education, the Refugee Agency maintains several platforms. To illustrate, its online platform ‘UNHCR Opportunities’ allows refugees, IDPs, and other displaced persons to find accredited higher education or scholarship programmes that have been verified by UNHCR. The ‘Learn and Connect’ portal enables UNHCR staff and partners to access a comprehensive set of learning activities.
Development basket
Sustainable development
The UNHCR is firmly committed to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The interplay between digital and development is evident in the Agency’s contributions in the field of digital inclusion. To this end, the UNHCR has published the above-mentioned ‘Strategy on Digital Identity and Inclusion’. The Refugee Agency has also developed the Digital Access, Inclusion and Participation programme, to ensure that refugees and other displaced communities have access to digital technology and connectivity, and increasing their participation in the Refugee Agency’s work. The UNHCR’s Innovation Service leads the programme.
In 2018, the UNHCR launched the Global Compact for Refugees, a framework for more equitable responsibility-sharing, noting that sustainable solutions to refugee situations cannot be realised without international co-operation. Therefore, it sets out four key objectives: To ease the pressures on host countries, enhance refugee self-reliance, expand access to third-country solutions, and support conditions in countries of origin for return with safety and dignity. Moreover, the Refugee Agency developed a digital platform for the Global Compact on Refugees, which enables the sharing of experiences and knowledge on the implementation of the Global Compact for Refugees.
The UNHCR has also worked with students and young people to raise awareness of many challenges faced by refugees. For instance, the Refugee Agency has launched ‘The MUN Refugee Challenge’ to encourage students worldwide to debate on and shape solutions to numerous refugee crises.
Human Rights basket
Privacy and data protection
The UNHCR has been very vocal in the area of data protection, emphasising that ‘Data protection is part and parcel of refugee protection’. Since 2015, the Refugee Agency has maintained its own data protection policy. The policy is accompanied by the ‘Guidance on the Protection of Personal Data of Persons of Concern to UNHCR’, published in 2018, with the aim of assisting UNHCR personnel in the application and interpretation of the data protection policy.
The Refugee Agency recently published its ‘Data Transformation Strategy 2020-2025’, aimed at strengthening its role as a leading authority on data and information related to forcibly displaced and stateless persons.
