UNHCR Kosovo* update

November December 2016

Key Figures
173,447
Refugees and migrants arrived
by sea in Greece
in 2016
1,662
Refugees and migrants arrived by
sea in Greece in December
62,784
Refugees and migrants
present in Greece on the
mainland and on the islands

Faster movement of people from Greek islands to

mainland essential
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is reiterating its call to accelerate
the moving of asylum-seekers from the Aegean islands to the Greek
mainland. The need for better protection will become all the more
acute when temperatures on the islands drop. Over the Christmas
and New Year period UNHCR completed the winter preparation
work for all the sites assigned by the Greek authorities. In total
UNHCR has created 21,000 accommodation places in apartments,
with host families, or in other buildings. UNHCR reminds EU
countries of the continued, urgent need to help resolve the
situation in Greece through relocations of asylum-seekers to other
Member States.

1,187
Returned from Greece to
Turkey in the course of 2016
under the EU-Turkey
Statement
5,022
Refugees and migrants
estimated to have died/ gone
missing at sea
in Europe in 2016
7,760
Relocated from Greece to EU
Member States under the EU
Relocation Mechanism
Western Balkans
Approximately 300 refugees
and migrants remain in the
former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia
7,000 refugees and migrants
remain in Serbia

Mohammed helps his mother make a campfire to keep the family warm during the cold
hours. UNHCR/Achilleas Zavallis

Mediterranean: 5,022 people reported dead during

2016
This is the worst annual death toll ever seen. This situation
highlights the urgent need for States to increase pathways for
admission of refugees, such as resettlement, private sponsorship,
family reunification and student scholarship schemes, among
others, so they do not have to resort to dangerous journeys and
the use of smugglers. The causes for the alarming increase in
deaths this year are multiple but appear to be related to the
declining quality of the vessels used by people smugglers, the
vagaries of the weather and the tactics used by smugglers to avoid
detection by the authorities.
*References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council
Resolution 1244 (1999).

UNHCR updates protection toolkit for a world on the move

UNHCR issued its original 10-Point Plan of Action in 2006, setting out a framework to help countries ensure that
people in need of international protection travelling within broader mixed migratory movements could be
identified and assisted. The updated 10-Point Plan of Action provides an overhauled set of best practises for states,
civil society organizations and other UN partners, taking into account larger and more complex flows of people in
todays world. Read here the updated 10-Point Plan of Action

UNHCR calls for stronger EU action on refugees

In a paper presented to the European Union (EU) on 5 December, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, called
for a far-reaching reform of Europes global engagement with refugees, including the European asylum
system.
UNHCR called on Europe to offer more
strategic and targeted support to countries
of origin, asylum and transit of refugees, to
review its contingency preparations to
respond to large refugee and migrant
arrivals, and to put in place a more efficient
and better managed asylum system.
UNHCRs paper Better Protecting Refugees
in the EU and Globally sets out a practical
vision for how this could be achieved both
within the EU and globally. Building on
elements of the existing Common European
A refugee from Afghanistan holds his young son and looks at the sea after
Asylum System (CEAS) and some of the
reaching the shores of Lesvos island, Greece UNHCR/Achilleas Zavallis
reforms proposed by the European
Commission, UNHCRs proposals would result in a simplified asylum system that would provide access
to territory, register and receive new arrivals properly, allocate responsibility for asylum-seekers
amongst EU Member States and ensure that Member States are equipped to meet the task. Read
UNHCRs paper Better Protecting Refugees in the EU and Globally in the link

UNHCR bolsters response to help displaced from Mosul

As the Mosul conflict is in its third month, and the number of people displaced climbs towards 100,000,
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is bolstering its capacity to host and support civilians fleeing the fighting
as cold weather sets in. So far (16 December),
96,864 people have been displaced by fighting
since October 17, when military operations
began.
The bulk of new arrivals 57,000 people are
currently being sheltered in UNHCR-supported
camps in the area. Significant numbers have
also been fleeing Hawija in Kirkuk ahead of an
offensive to retake the last areas controlled by
armed opposition groups; since August,
51,000 have been displaced. UNHCR has six
camps receiving people from Mosul, with
another three under construction. The nine
camps would have a capacity for 102,000
people.

A group of several hundred women and children from Al Shirqat

arrive at the Qayyarah Airstrip camp in Qayy UNHCR/Ivor Prickett

UNHCR urges governments: People fleeing war to be considered as refugees

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has moved to reinforce the global refugee protection regime by issuing
new guidelines on dealing with people fleeing their country because of war. The guidelines aim to ensure
that states generally consider those fleeing armed
conflict and other violent crises as refugees.
Discrepancies still exist today when determining
refugee eligibility, with some countries not
recognizing such a claim by victims of violence.
The idea that one has to be singled out and
individually targeted to be a refugee is a myth,
said UNHCRs Assistant High Commissioner for
Protection Volker Trk. The 1951 Refugee
Convention, the cornerstone of our work, has
always included refugees from war. But over the
Syrian Kurdish refugees cross into Turkey near the town of
Kobani, Syria UNHCR/Ivor Prickett
years it has been inconsistently applied, and some
countries have required people fleeing war to prove they were individually targeted.
UNHCR calls on all countries to follow the new guidelines in order to apply a consistent and harmonized
standard for refugees, one that provides international protection to all who need it. Forced displacement
is at a record high globally, with 65.3 million people displaced as of the end of 2015. Refugees make up
about a third of this total (21.3 million) with the overwhelming majority being people displaced within
their own country. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has updated its tool kit for protecting vulnerable
people on the move, in response to a sharp increase in global flows of both refugees and migrants in the
decade since it was published.

Growing shelter pressure in Aleppo for the thousands fleeing

2 December - In Syrias Aleppo, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, remains extremely concerned for the
civilian population. With thousands fleeing the eastern part of the city, our focus has turned to the
rapidly growing shelter needs. Many of those who
have fled eastern districts are now in unfinished or
partly-destroyed buildings. Unsanitary conditions
and overcrowding are already challenges in a
congested city with few open spaces.
UNHCR has been providing tents, shelter kits and
sealing-off kits to meet the most urgent needs and
improve living conditions. It is also working with
partners to quickly rehabilitate structures as
temperatures drop. Food, water, medical care and
other items are being distributed by UNHCR and Recently displaced from East Aleppo take shelter at the
nearby Al-Mahalij industrial zone. UNHCR
partners alongside winter clothing and other relief
items. UNHCR has emergency supplies of non-food items, among them blankets and tents, for 45,000
people in western Aleppo. It is estimated that some 30,000 people have fled just in the last days.
In all there are now some 400,000 displaced people in western Aleppo. Since September, UNHCR has
supported 838,092 people in Syria, including Aleppo, with winter items, including thermal blankets,
sleeping bags, plastic sheets and clothing.
More of the latest information on UNHCR activities and programmes is available on the website:
http://www.unhcr.org/

UNHCR Kosovo key developments in November - December

UNHCRs donation to asylum centre
UNHCR delivered a minivan and an ultrasound scanner to
the asylum centre near Pristina on 14 December.
The donation aimed at improving medical facilities in the
asylum centre and to provide appropriate transportation
to asylum-seekers. Chief of UNHCR Mission in Kosovo, Mr.
Narasimha Rao, handed over the keys of the minivan to
Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Mr.
Valdet Hoxha.
Mr. Rao appealed to the Deputy Minister to ensure that
Kosovo authorities continue leading by example in
maintaining high standards of receiving asylum-seekers.
Deputy Minister Hoxha, thanked for the donation and
said that authorities are interested to serve as a model in
the region in regards to the reception of people seeking
international protection.
UNHCR provides protection to asylum seekers worldwide
and in Kosovo has supported authorities to build an
effective asylum system.

Presentation of UNHCR findings on Age and Gender Diversity Mainstreaming

On the occasion of the presentation of UNHCR findings on Age and Gender Diversity Mainstreaming on
10 November, we were joined by representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Municipal
Offices for Communities and Returns,
the Reception Centre for asylumseekers from the Ministry of Internal
Affairs, UNICEF, OSCE, IOM, DRC,
CRP/K, KRCT, AT and returnee
representatives. Chief of UNHCR
Mission in Kosovo, Mr. Narasimha
Rao, said that the analysis is done
with the aim to collect information
from our persons of concern about
obstacles that they encounter to fully
enjoy their human rights. He
highlighted few issues that need an
urgent attention, such as barriers to
education for children, in particular
from minority communities, high level of school dropouts and cases of child marriage. The assessment
of Age and Gender Diversity Mainstreaming carried out by UNHCR was done through engaging with
persons of concern followed by gathering and analysing information. It included identification of
protection risks among people at risk of statelessness, asylum seekers and returnees taking into
consideration needs of specific groups including women and men, boys and girls and people of various
ages and from diverse backgrounds.

Assistance to families affected by November floods

UNHCR assisted Kosovo families affected by a heavy
flooding caused by heavy rain beginning of November.
UNHCR distributed relief items to 81 families (491
individuals) living in Gjakov/akovica and Prilluzh/Priluje
village in Vushtrri/Vuitrn Municipality. UNHCR supported
all communities affected. UNHCR provided them with food
rations, blankets, non-food and hygienic items in
coordination with the Municipality of Gjakova/Djakovica
and Vushtrri/Vuitrn Municipality and with the support by
our implementing partner, Advancing Together.

Delivery of assistance to voluntary returnees

UNHCR supports voluntary returnees to Kosovo through different assistance. Return package include
also income generation tools to make possible for
returnees to generate income and support their
families. Recently, we supported some families
returnees from Skopje with woodcutting machine
after they decided to receive this type of income
generation grant. They had lived for many years as
displaced and now they live in Obiliq/Obilic
Municipality adapting themselves to their new home.
They are willing to work and to support their families.
UNHCR hopes that these initiatives will help create
job opportunities for returnees and local population,
as well as can improve the living conditions in Kosovo.

Returnees are grateful for UNHCRs support

UNHCRs staff in the field are getting a lot of appreciation words from returnees. Some of the assisted
persons said that UNHCRs assistance helped them a lot. UNHCR Field Team met Fetah Peci who together
with his family was internally displaced living
in difficult conditions in Mitrovica. Recently,
he got a new house built in his place of origin
in Boletin by the support of the local
donors. UNHCR helped the family through an
aid package offered to returnees, former
internally displaced families. UNHCR Team
provided food and non-food items, basic
furniture and appliances for kitchen and
firewood for winter to Fetahs family. Also,
UNHCR handed-over a moto-cultivator as a
tool to work with and generate income for his
family. He and his wife are very grateful for
the assistance provided by UNHCR.

Youth opinions in Kosovo through UNHCRs Participatory Assessment

UNHCR listened to the views of the youth during the last assessment of their needs. Our colleague from
Protection Unit told us what concerns and appeals were noted from these discussions: Youth asked for
more interaction among communities
comprising of social, cultural, and sport
activities. Youth of Serb ethnicity, who
returned to the south of Kosovo, and
the youth of Albanian ethnicity, who
returned to the north, suggested to
explore
the
possibility
of
sharing education facilities. Most of the
returnees said that they would like to
see an increasing inter-ethnic dialogue
and communication among people
regardless of their ethnic background.
They also proposed connecting
community markets to create an
inclusive trade network among all communities and increase opportunities for income generation
activities. Other findings of the UNHCR assessment mention protection concerns related to concerns
affecting primarily Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, such as child labour, school drop outs, early
marriages and marginalisation of women and girls.
Every year UNHCR gathers information from asylum-seekers and refugees, displaced persons, returnees
and persons at risk of statelessness through a Participatory Assessment. We share our very detailed
findings with authorities and partners aiming to provide solutions to protection concerns. UNHCR truly
believes that only through a multi-sectorial approach by the authorities, international organisations and
civil society, we can make a lasting difference for them.

Returnees happy to see their family members after so many years in displacement
Only two days before the New Years
evening UNHCR supported return of few
families in Obiliq/ Obilic. Returnees were
happy to see their family members after so
many years in displacement! We are very
happy to come back and we hope for a
better future, said a returnee. UNHCR
supports voluntary returnee families with
food products, non-food and hygienic
items, furniture, appliances for kitchen,
firewood for winter and an income
generation grant. Join us in wishing them a
success in their self-employment and
wishing them a prosperous New Year 2017!

Contacts: Shpend Halili, Public Information Associate, halilis@unhcr.org, Tel: +381 38 241 509 Ext. 2701