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APOSTLE OVUEDE: Security of lives and properties is the responsibility of all by Apostle Ovuede

ON WORLD REFUGEE DAY JUNE 20TH 2022 WOMEN'S EFFECT INITIATIVE INTERNATIONAL JOINS TO CELEBRATE
WORLD REFUGEE DAY LIVE IN NIGERIA








MESSAGE FROM THE GRAND PATRON OF THE WOMEN'S EFFECT INITIATIVE INTERNATIONAL (UN-WEII) TO THE UN WOMEN AND SOCIETY AT LARGE


















Security of lives and properties is the responsibility of all.  Everyone deserves to live in peace without the fear of domination by a set of persons on the ground of race or religion. Everyone should wage war against WAR, physical VIOLENCE, and TORTURE. Again  it is important to care for those in a refugee camp,  and those seeking Safety. Peace and Safety for all is our collective responsibility. 

By APOSTLE EMMANUEL OVUEDE              Humanitarian Ambassador/
GRAND PATRON (UN-WEII)




Emergencies

In emergencies, we must think quickly and act fast. Whether conflict has caused people to flee their homes or political upheaval has displaced a population overnight, UNHCR is there to help.


Our aid and experts are ready for rapid deployment across the world. We can launch an emergency operation within 72 hours, thanks to a global network of suppliers, specialist agencies, and partners.

Our humanitarian response is growing faster and more effective with the introduction of a new emergency policy that simplifies internal procedures and makes it easier to mobilize human, material, and financial resources. It provides for new rosters of specialists on standby, speedier release of emergency funds, prepositioned relief material, and accelerated selection of staff and partners. The new policy also emphasizes the importance of early engagement with development actors and the pursuit of solutions from the onset of a crisis.


The policy also sharpens the focus on risk analysis and preparedness before a crisis erupts. Additionally, we contribute to inter-agency initiatives to enhance early warning and preparedness.

To maintain our capacity for emergencies, we have developed regular training programs such as the Workshop on Emergency Management, which prepares volunteers listed on our Emergency Response Team rosters for deployment to humanitarian crises on short notice. This week-long exercise is held three to four times a year for up to 40 people and focuses on team-building, operations planning, communication and negotiation skills, and security.

UNHCR’s e Centre in Bangkok also helps to improve emergency preparedness and response in the Asia-Pacific region through capacity-building. https://www.unhcr.org/afr/what-to-expect-working-for-unhcr.html


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Diversity and Inclusion

Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on the grounds of race, color, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity. We work with skilled professionals who are committed to putting people first, making a real difference in people’s lives, and are willing to go anywhere we are needed to get the job done.

Our values

  1. Our core values are integrity, professionalism, and respect for diversity.
  2. We put people first – the needs of people forced to flee are at the heart of everything we do.
  3. We go wherever we are needed and get the job done – our staff work in more than 132 countries, often in extremely difficult conditions.
  4. We support resilience – we work with those in need, affording them dignity and respect.
  5. We protect people’s rights – we work to safeguard the rights of those who have been forced to flee their homes or are deprived of a nationality.
  6. We deliver the best possible outcome – we are focused on protecting refugees and displaced communities forced to flee, and developing solutions to support people in their quest to restart their lives and build a better future.

Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has a zero-tolerance policy against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA). SEA is unacceptable behavior and prohibited conduct for UNHCR personnel. It constitutes acts of serious misconduct and is, therefore, grounds for disciplinary measures, including dismissal. Any concerns or suspicions about a possible case of SEA should be reported immediately to the Inspector General’s Office (IGO).

More information on SEA and how to report it

Gender Equality

In September 2017, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, launched the UN System strategy on gender parity. At the heart of the strategy is the need to increase the recruitment and advancement of women - in particular in middle to senior management levels, where the gaps are the greatest. Therefore, UNHCR has put measures in place to support gender parity, especially with a focus on attracting, recruiting, and retaining women in leadership and technical roles. When reviewing candidates, managers must include at minimum two-thirds female candidates among those shortlisted to the extent possible. When two or more candidates fully meet the requirements of a position and are substantially equally qualified, preference in recommendations will be given to female candidates until gender parity is achieved at the respective grade levels.

Furthermore, to better support and balance personal, family, and professional commitments, UNHCR staff members are entitled to: https://help.unhcr.org/

  • Maternity Leave with full pay, normally commencing from six up to two weeks before the anticipated date of delivery and extending for a total period of 16 weeks
  • Adoption and Surrogacy Leave increased to 10 weeks
  • Request eight weeks of special leave with full pay to complement Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave, and Surrogacy Leave.
  • Returning from Maternity Leave, a staff member may be authorized to work on a 75 percent basis whilst receiving a full salary during that period to provide adequate child support during his or her first year of life, extended to Adoption and Surrogacy Leave.
  • Workplace accommodation: authorization to travel out of the duty station from the 32nd week of pregnancy.

UNHCR Policy on Age, Gender and Diversity 2018

Advisory Group on Gender, Forced Displacement, and Protecti



UNHCR has a long history of working with a wide range of civil society, government, U, N, and NGO partners for the protection and assistance of persons of concern, including refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), stateless persons, and host communities. The principles of partnership - equality, transparency, result-oriented approach, responsibility, and complementarity - together with the ten recommendations from the High Commissioner's Structured Dialogue on Partnership (see http://www.refworld.org/docid/51751fb14.html) are the framework for this relationship.

The partnership is critical for effective emergency preparedness and response. While partnerships are highly context-specific, there are a set of pre-defined working modalities and standby arrangements in place as part of preparedness to respond to the next emergency.

Partnering with communities

The people we serve remain at the center of UNHCR’s work. Through a community-based approach to all its work, communities - through consultation and participation - engage meaningfully and substantively in all aspects of programmes that affect them, and play a leading and deciding role in change. Our community based approach is not just a matter of consulting communities, or their participation in rapid assessment or information-gathering. It is a continuous process that eng­­ages communities as analysts, evaluators and implementers of their own protection. As such, it can and should be integrated into humanitarian response programmes across sectors and in all humanitarian contexts.

Refugee situations: 

The Refugee Coordination Model

The Refugee Coordination Model, issued in December 2013, is a framework for leading, coordinating and delivering refugee operations. The specific coordination approach in each context is determined by the capacity and approaches of the host government, and builds on resources of refugees and hosting communities. Under the overall leadership of the host government, partnership based and inclusive coordination is a pre-condition for an effective refugee emergency response operation. In the pre-emergency phase, UNHCR works with partners on joint preparedness actions and inter-agency contingency planning as appropriate. In the response phase, especially for large scale refugee emergencies, the inter-agency Refugee Response Plan (RRP) led by UNHCR provides the framework for collective strategic planning and joint resource mobilisation.

In the interest of ensuring that coordination is streamlined, complementary and mutually reinforcing and to avoid duplication at the delivery level, UNHCR and OCHA clarified their respective roles and responsibilities on coordination in mixed settings -where the population of humanitarian concern include refugees, IDPs and other affected groups, and how leadership and coordination should function in practice. In April 2014, The Joint UNCHR-OCHA Note on Mixed Situations: Coordination in Practice was signed by the High Commissioner and Emergency Relief Coordinator. This Joint Note sets out the respective accountabilities roles and responsibilities of the UNHCR Representative and the Humanitarian Coordinator.


IDP situations and natural disasters: Partnership within the framework of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)

The IASC policies and guidance materials provide the framework for UNHCR’s engagement with partners in IDP situations and natural disasters. The IASC is an inter-agency forum for coordinat ion, policy development and decision-making. It includes the key UN and non-UN humanitarian partners. Led by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, the IASC develops humanitarian policies, demarcates responsibilities are cross the various dimensions of humanitarian assistance, identifies and addresses gaps in response, and advocates for effective application of humanitarian principles. The IASC oversees the implementation of the Transformative Agenda and the cluster approach, a coordination system for non-refugee humanitarian situations, by which humanitarian organisations have agreed to lead certain clusters at global level and have defined a cluster structure for non-refugee humanitarian responses at country level. UNHCR fully participates in the IASC, and leads the Global Protection, and co-leads the Global shelter, and camp coordination and camp management (CCCM) clusters.

UNHCR typically participates in inter-agency Preliminary Response Plans (PRP) and Strategic Response Plans led by the Humanitarian Coordinator, which serve the purpose of strategy setting and presenting financial requirements for the emergency response.

Delivering with partners

In emergency preparedness and response UNHCR partners with a variety of actors to deliver the crucial aspects of protection and assistance for persons of concern. This includes operational partners, a wide range of government, UN and NGO partners who contribute expertise and financial resources to the collective response. In addition, UNHCR concludes project partnership agreements (PPAs) by which partners are funded by the agency. In 2013, UNHCR signed partnership agreements with 733 NGOs worldwide, of which 567 were national and local NGOs and 166 were international. UNHCR funding channelled through NGOs and other partners reached a record high, exceeding USD 1.15 billion, a 23 per cent increase compared to 2012.

The inclusion of all partners, funded by UNHCR or not, in all aspects of the programme cycle is an important component in emergency operations. Joint assessments, joint planning, joint monitoring, and joint advocacy are invaluable opportunities to reduce the gaps in the response, and enhance quality and accountability to affected populations.

To ensure programme effectiveness and sustainability, UNHCR places great value and investment in strengthening the capacity of national and local actors. Amongst a number of other ongoing capacity building projects, in 2012, UNHCR also launched a pilot initiative to strengthen the emergency preparedness and response capacity of 11 national NGO partners. The scope of the initiative included emergency management training and coaching for preparedness and response delivery.

Emergency standby partners

In order to improve the efficiency and predictability of emergency response, UNHCR has put in place a number of standby partnership agreements with government agencies, NGOs, and private sector organizations whose specific expertise and capacity complement UNHCR’s internal emergency and surge capacity. Standby partners are organizations or entities that, after signing an agreement with UNHCR, maintain a standby capacity of standby personnel or equipment, which can be rapidly deployed upon request, to enhance UNHCR’s capacity to respond to humanitarian crises.

As of March 2015, UNHCR works with the following standby partners: Canadem, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department for International Development (DFID), Danish Refugee Council (DRC), “emergency.lu” / Ministry of Foreign Affairs Luxembourg, Irish Aid, Swedish Civil Contingency Agency (MSB), Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning (DSB), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), RedR Australia, Save the Children Norway, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), Turkish Red Crescent (TRC), Veolia Environment Foundation, White Helmet Commission / Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Argentina. UNHCR also collaborates with the International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP), an informal umbrella organisation for multinational cooperation between governmental emergency management agencies active in the field of humanitarian assistance. The IHP member agencies are: The Crisis Management Centre Finland (CMC), Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA), UK Department for International Development (DFID), Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning (DSB), Luxembourg Rescue Services Agency (ASS Lux), Estonian Rescue Board (ERB), Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW).

Donor partnerships

UN-WEII Women's Effects Initiative International 
UNHCR relies almost entirely on voluntary contributions from governments, inter-governmental institutions, individuals, foundations, and corporations. This also includes pooled funding arrangements, such as the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and situation-specific Common Humanitarian Funds. When new

 situation-specific collaboration with donor partners is particularly important, as to put in place the resources to respond to new and often unforeseen large-scale protection and assistance needs, within a short large-scale center.