UNHCR Kosovo* update

June - July 2016

Highlights
159,317
Refugees and migrants
arriving by sea to Greece
in 2016 (Jan-July)

UNHCR High Commissioner, Filippo Grandi, visited

Afghanistan on 20th June on the occasion on the World
Refugee Day. He urged the international community to redouble
efforts to find lasting solutions to Afghanistans complex and rapidly
evolving displacement crisis. He stressed UNHCRs continued commitment
to the 2.4 million remaining Afghan refugees in the region, as well as UNHCR
intention to renew efforts to find durable solutions for the countrys
estimated 1.2 million internally displaced people. Noting that Afghanistan
remains the second-largest refugee-producing country in the world, High
Commissioner Grandi called for respect of the principles of refugee
protection and for increased international solidarity towards people fleeing
conflict, insecurity, and persecution.

56,870
Refugees and migrants
present in Greece on the
mainland and on the
islands

468
Returns to Turkey
(EU-Turkey agreement)

2,990
Refugees and migrants
estimated to have died/ gone
missing at sea in Europe in
2016

Qudsia talks to UN High Commissioner for Refugees about returning home after living 35
years in exile. @UNHCR/I. Syed

On 20th June, UNHCR launched its annual Global

Trends report, which tracks forced displacement
worldwide based on data from governments, partners
including the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre,
and the organizations own reporting. According to the
statistics, 65.3 million people were displaced as of the end of 2015,
compared to 59.5 million just 1 year earlier and this is the first time in
history that the threshold of 60 million has been crossed. 40.8 million
people had been forced to flee their homes within their own countries (an
increase of 2.6 million compare to 2014 and the highest number on record).
UNHCRs Global Trends Report was released in conjunction with
#WithRefugees campaign using an online petition to show support for
refugees. Petition in English. Petition in Albanian.

*References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council Resolution 1244
(1999).

The number of Syrian refugees living in poverty continues to rise in host

countries in the region and providing access to basic services remains a
critical challenge, says a report released on 5th July on the Syria refugee
response. The mid-year report of the 2016 Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), released
by UNHCR and more than 200 international and national actors, looks at progress achieved so far this
year in helping refugees and host communities in Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt. The report
warns about growing poverty. It says that in Lebanon, the average debt held by refugee households
has increased over the first quarter of 2016 and the number of people living below the poverty line
has risen to 70% compared to 50% in 2014. In Jordan, 90% of registered Syrian refugees in urban areas
are below the national poverty line, while over 67% of families are living in debt. In Egypt, some 62,000
refugees are living in poverty.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency,

launched on 16th June a major campaign
asking people to stand together
#WithRefugees. In a stunning video message more
than 60 global celebrities and aid workers repeat the
message, we stand with refugees, please stand with us.
The petition appeals for government action on behalf of
the worlds forcibly displaced.

The petition will be delivered in advance of Septembers

historic UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants on 19
September. The campaign seeks to mobilize massive
audiences, creating the largest-ever petition to support
refugees cause. Sign the petition: in English or in
Albanian.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) accepted

that a team of the refugees can compete in the
upcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
They include two Syrian swimmers, two judokas from the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, and six runners from
Ethiopia and South Sudan. They all fled violence and
persecution in their countries and sought refuge in places as
wide-ranging as Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Kenya and
Brazil. The initiative to send a refugee team to the Rio Games
is unprecedented and sends a strong message of support and
hope for refugees worldwide. It also comes at a time when more people than ever are being forced by
conflict and persecution into fleeing their homes. For profiles of the athletes, click here.

UNHCR expressed concern about further restrictions by Hungary leading to

push-backs of people seeking asylum and reports about the use of violence
and abuse. These restrictions are at variance with EU and international law and since the new
legislation came into force, a total of 664 individuals were sent back through the fence. The new
legislation extended border controls to an 8-kilometre area inside Hungarian territory, and authorizes
the police to intercept people within this area and send them to the other side of the fence, often to
remote areas without adequate services. The number of refugees and migrants at the Serbia-Hungary
border has reached over 1,400 (as of 15th July), including people waiting to enter the transit zones, as
well as those at the Refugee Aid Point at Subotica. The majority are women and children who are
particularly affected by the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

A large-scale exercise to pre-register asylum seekers on mainland Greece

was launched on 8th June 2016 by the Greek Asylum Service with UNHCRs
support. So far, more than 15,500 people residing in open temporary accommodation structures
have received asylum seeker cards, valid for one year, allowing them to reside legally in Greece and
have the right to access services, pending the full lodging of their asylum application. The exercise will
help to identify those eligible for family reunification or relocation to another EU country. It will also
identify persons with specific needs so that they may be referred to appropriate organizations and
receive assistance and support. The pre-registration exercise aims to address the need to access
international protection by an estimated 49,000 people currently on mainland Greece. The process is
open to those who entered Greece between 1st January 2015 and 20th March 2016.
Latest information is available on UNHCR website:
http://www.unhcr.org/
http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/regional.php

Information contained in this newsletter is based on online sources and UNHCR Kosovo is not responsible for
any misinterpretations.

UNHCR Kosovo key developments in June-July

On 20th June, UNHCR Kosovo marked the

World Refugee Day by organizing free outdoor
screening of documentaries showing the life of refugees.
The event was held in the city center of Pristina in the
Skenderbeg square. During the day, 12:00-18:30,
people were able to witness life in the Zaatari refugee
camp using virtual reality glasses (movie Clouds over
Sidra). Moreover in the evening, 17:30 20:00 a series
of documentaries was shown about the refugees from Syria and refugees from Bosnia and
Herzegovina.

On 13th June, UNHCR Kosovo supported by OSCE Mission in Kosovo

organized the second technical working group (TWG) on Solutions
Planning within the scope of the Inter-institutional Initiative on Durable
Solutions for Displaced Persons from Kosovo. During the opening of the TWG,
Minister Dalibor Jevti, Ministry of Communities and Returns in Kosovo, said that "Today we will

discuss the practical steps of the responsible implementation of the endorsed actions". Andrew
Mayne, UNHCR Regional Representative for South Eastern Europe, underlined that "The tone of the
meeting is to improve and accelerate the agreed processes. What needs to happen between now and
the next High Level Forum is action". Sofia Botzios, OSCE Senior Communities Adviser, also
emphasised that "We are meeting to discuss the implementation of the actions thus far endorsed".

High-level Forum on Durable Solutions for

Displaced Persons from Kosovo took place
in Belgrade on 14th June. Participating institutions,
led by Minister Dalibor Jevti (Pristina), Director Marko
uri (Belgrade), Director eljko ofranac (Podgorica) and
State Secretary Enver Husejin (Skopje), confirmed their
strong support for entering the implementation phase of
the inter-institutional initiative on durable solutions for
displaced
persons
from
Kosovo.
Please
read
the
Communiqu
on: http://www.osce.org/kosovo/248371

UNHCR Kosovo received on 17th June a

group of students from the Human Rights
Centre of the University of Essex (UK).
During the discussion, they learnt about people whom
UNHCR supports in Kosovo: refugees, asylum-seekers,
internally displaced persons, returnees and people under
the risk of statelessness. Students asked questions
referring to the number of returnees, their living
conditions, access to find jobs and overall prospects of
receiving more returnees in Kosovo in the future. They were also curious to know about the cultural
diversity in Kosovo.

UNHCR Kosovo held on 24th June a

workshop on Age and Gender Diversity
Mainstreaming Participatory Assessment
(AGDM PA) with its implementing
partners: Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for
Tortured Victims, Civil Rights Programme Kosovo and Advancing Together. The aim of the workshop was to discuss main protection
themes related to AGDM. One of the main issues presented to the participants was the Methodology
of the Participatory Assessment. Adequate implementation of the age and gender diversity approach
is extremely important to UNHCRs work on protection of persons of concern, refugees, internally
displaced persons, asylum seekers, returnees and persons at risk of statelessness.

UNHCR Kosovo and its implementing partner, Kosova Rehabilitation

Centre for Tortured Victims (KRCT), held on 24th June a workshop to
finalise the second edition of Guidance material on identification of

asylum seekers with specific needs. The Guidance

material aims to strengthen the capacities of relevant actors by
offering information on different vulnerable categories, providing
instruments for a screening process on identification of persons
with specific needs and building a responding and referring
mechanism of identified vulnerable persons. Representatives of
the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Centre for asylum-seekers,
Detention Centre for Foreigners and Border Police attended the workshop.

On 7th July, UNHCR facilitated a workshop on

managing the new database processing
applications for assistance for durable
solutions. Participants included the representatives of the
Ministry of Communities and Returns (MCR), International
Organization for Migration Kosovo, Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe Kosovo (OSCE), Municipal Offices
for Communities and Returns (MOCR) and Advancing
Together. The theme of the workshop was on managing the
new database, which at the moment is being developed in coordination between UNHCR, MCR and
IOM, and which will enable processing applications for assistance for durable solutions, recording
achieved durable solutions and monitor the level of integration of returnees.

UNHCR met on 29th June to discuss

Municipal Action Plans with the
Representatives of the Municipal Offices
for Communities and Returns (MOCR) from
Gjilan/ Gnjilane, Obiliq/ Obilic, Mitrovic/
Mitrovica,
Kamenic/Kamenica,
Lipjan/Lipljan and Fush Kosov/Kosovo
Polje. Participants discussed the latest developments
related to voluntary returns. There was an exchange of opinions about the Municipal Action Plans,
which objective is to support Municipalities in creating conditions conducive to return. These
documents promote the returns in safety and dignity, and ensure that the returnees enjoy
equal rights as any other members of the local community. The training was also attended by OSCE
and UNHCRs implementing partner, Advancing Together (AT).

Contacts:
Malgorzata Bratkrajc, External Relations Officer, bratkraj@unhcr.org, Tel: + 38138241509 Ext. 2700, Cell +377 (0) 44115560
Shpend Halili, Public Information Associate, halilis@unhcr.org, Tel: +38138241509 Ext. 2701, Cell +377 (0) 45286862