Operations

336	Number of personnel (international and national)
10	Number of offices
171  Mio. USD	Overall funding requirements (ExCom-approved 2016 budget)

A. Operational Environment and Strategy

Planning for 2016 is based on an overarching multi-year protection strategy that seeks to consolidate several years of work to develop national asylum capacity across the subregion. Priorities include assistance to long-standing urban populations of concern such as in Algeria and Egypt, and camp populations in Algeria and Mauritania.
 
UNHCR’s programmes in the subregion will be guided by irregular refugee or migrant movements to Europe, largely through Libya, by both land and sea. As part of the Special Mediterranean Initiative, the response to refugee protection and mixed movements will be centred on preventing refoulement; improving access to territory and to asylum; empowering refugees to make informed decisions; and enhancing protection space including the quality of stay arrangements and access to protection. 
 
The Office will closely support the Governments of Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia to safeguard protection space, advance or enhance draft asylum laws and broaden relevant institutional architecture.
 
UNHCR will continue to support more than 200,000 registered urban refugees and asylum-seekers across North Africa, for 90,000 Sahrawi refugees in five camps near Tindouf, Algeria, and to the roughly 50,000 Malian refugees in M’bera camp, Mauritania.
 
Funding shortfalls will disproportionately impact smaller operations in North Africa. In all operations, UNHCR will remain guided by vulnerability criteria in prioritizing allocation of scarce financial resources.

B. Response and Implementation

Operations in Algeria, Egypt and Libya are presented in separate country chapters. For other countries where UNHCR operates in the subregion, please see below.

Mauritania: In 2016, the Office will ensure that refugees have access to documentation, such as birth certificates, maintain respect for humanitarian standards in the camp by meeting essential needs and reinforcing access to education. Self-sufficiency for refugees will be further enhanced through primary and secondary education, literacy and vocational training, and income-generating activities will be further enhanced. In addition to continued assistance for the 50,000 Malian refugees hosted in the remotely located M’bera camp (Bassikounou), UNHCR will increase support to the host population. This will be implemented through an inter-agency approach to maximise synergies and fill existing gaps.
 
Morocco: With the drafting of the asylum law and the first steps in establishing a national asylum system in Morocco, authorities and civil society have requested UNHCR support in the current transition phase. UNHCR will focus on two key areas: working with authorities to build the capacity of the various institutions that are or will be involved in the management of refugee affairs; and supporting other countries in the region to assume asylum responsibilities.
 
Tunisia: The Office will continue to focus on addressing mixed movements and protection at sea, as well as building asylum legislation and systems including the Special Mediterranean Initiative and concomitant donor attention on Tunisia; and, bringing the draft Asylum Law before Parliament. Further to this, the Libya conflict will continue to generate irregular movements beyond Libya and create greater protection needs in the coming year. UNHCR has developed a contingency plan in Tunisia for the Libya situation and, along with the UN Country Team is closely involved in responding to this evolving situation.
 
Western Sahara: UNHCR will continue to engage relevant parties in the implementation of Confidence Building Measures programme as stipulated in the 2012 Plan of Action.