1.Background and Rationale:

The forced displacement crisis has increased in scale and complexity in recent years. According to UNHCR, there were about 70.8 million forcibly displaced persons in 2018, of whom about 25.9 million refugees and asylum-seekers. Forced displacement is increasingly protracted and disproportionally affects children: one in two refugees worldwide is a child. The overwhelming majority of the forcibly displaced are hosted in developing countries with limited resources and capacities to respond to the situations – with substantive socioeconomic impacts on both refugees and host communities.

The impact of forced displacement is substantial both among those in displacement and hosting communities. Forcibly displaced persons face specific vulnerabilities, including loss of assets and psychological trauma, limited rights, lack of opportunities, a protection risk as well as a risk to be out of school, and a lack of planning horizon. Host communities, which tend to be among the poorest in their country, typically in lagging regions, have to pursue their own development efforts in an environment that has been transformed by a large inflow of newcomers. Economic opportunities and access to jobs as well as services, especially education and protective services, are key to a successful management of such situations – for both refugees and host communities.

Action is urgently needed to mitigate the plight of both forcibly displaced persons and hosting communities. Humanitarian assistance is critical, but insufficient when situations become protracted, and they need to be complemented by a development approach that is focused on the medium- and long-term socioeconomic dimensions of the crisis.

There is a window of opportunity for improving the management of the forced displacement crises. A new consensus has emerged – especially around the need for displaced persons and host communities to access enhanced economic opportunities, and for children on the move to have effective and inclusive access to protection and education.

Significant international support is needed to enhance the education, protection, and economic opportunities available in areas affected by forced displacement – in partnership with the private sector and other stakeholders. Country-level efforts need to be complemented by regional and global action. Improved data needs to be made available and evidence needs to be further built on ‘what works’ in such contexts that also embraces more vigilantly private sector solutions and crisis prevention. Most importantly, international organizations must build a new set of partnerships, which maximize synergies and leverage comparative advantages.

PROSPECTS Partnership Programme

In response to this context, UNICEF, UNHCR, ILO, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank, in collaboration with and supported by the Government of the Netherlands, have developed a joint and fully integrated approach to respond to the forced displacement situation in the Middle East and North Africa and the Horn of Africa by joining and aligning efforts to develop a new paradigm in responding to forced displacement crises through the involvement of development actors.

The partnership aims to help transform the way governments and other stakeholders, including the private sector, respond to forced displacement crises in particular: (1) to enhance the enabling environment for the socio-economic inclusion of forcibly displaced persons (to mitigate their plight during years of exile and to best prepare them for their return); (2) to enhance access to education and child protection for vulnerable children on the move; and (3) to strengthen the resilience of host communities through inclusive socio-economic development that also benefits forcibly displaced persons.

In Sudan the Partnership is focusing its technical assistance on improving the quality of life for forcibly displaced and host communities from al Nimir camp and the nearby settlement of Assalaya in East Darfur, and El Meiram and Kharasana Settlements in West Kordofan. Together with our UN sister agencies, we are working to improve the quality and availability of locally relevant livelihoods skills training, strengthening the links between small plot farmers and agro-commodity buyer networks, restore access to critical water resources and grow markets.