Liberia

Working environment

 UNHCR has been providing basic services to refugees in Liberia since 2011, while supporting voluntary repatriation as the primary durable solution for refugees. However, UNHCR is gradually moving towards local integration of those Ivorian refugees opting to stay in Liberia after the ongoing voluntary repatriation exercise has been concluded. UNHCR has also started handing over services such as education, health, WASH and social protection to the respective government ministries. The planned conversion of refugee camps into settlements is also ongoing.
 
The protection and solutions strategy for the Liberia operation in 2019 has been developed in the context of the UNHCR’s Strategic Directions, 2017-2021, where particular emphasis is placed on five core directions to advance protection and solutions: protect, respond, include, empower and solve refugee issues.
 
The Government of Liberia remains favourable to local integration of refugees who opt to stay in the country. However, the economy is currently under financial strain and the government will likely not be able to contribute to refugee integration efforts without funding assistance from UNHCR and other agencies. Health, education and social protection services are already integrated into national programmes. UNHCR is committed to covering the costs of teachers, medical staff and drugs in health facilities in refugee-hosting areas in 2019.
 
UNHCR recognizes that the socio-economic integration of refugees helps prepare them for legal integration in Liberia. In this regard, livelihood activities will be developed through community-based approaches in 2019. These activities are also expected to contribute to building peaceful co-existence between refugee and host communities. Concurrently, the legal reform required for local integration, such as naturalization and/or the issuance of resident permits, will be pursued in 2019 and 2020.
 
UNHCR will further enhance its partnership with government entities to ensure the inclusion of refugees in existing national social programmes, and the legal representation and protection of rights of refugees, such as protection of women against sexual and gender-based violence, are upheld.
 

Key priorities
In 2019, UNHCR will:

• Engage in interventions that will support successful local integration of refugees and enhance the capacity of the Government of Liberia to address the needs of people of concern as UNHCR works towards exit strategy by 2021;
• Continue the process of handing over education, health, WASH, social protection and other services to the government by providing the necessary support;
• Transform camps to settlement villages where refugee and host communities will live together, sharing the resources and infrastructure;
• Promote social cohesion among refugees and the host communities through assistance and support using  community-based approaches that also benefit some vulnerable individuals among the host communities;
• Focus on shelter construction in Bahn and PTP camps where 880 shelters are expected to be built (230 in Bahn and 650 in PTP) of which 174 will be provided to support the host community (74 in Bahn and 100 in PTP) and 40 for people with specific needs;
• Support livelihoods through the provision of agriculture, fisheries, animal husbandry assets as well as starter kits for small business;
• Implement projects that  will benefit both host communities and refugees in an effort to promote peaceful co-existence using community-based approaches;
• Continue advocacy with the government for the passage of an amendment to the 1993 Liberia Refugee Act and the 1973 Aliens and Nationality Law;
• Carry out capacity building for Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) in refugee status determination and registration.