Egypt Response Plan 2018
PROTECTION
SECTOR RESPONSE
UNHCR is the lead agency of the protection sector and works in close partnership with the United Nations Children ’ s Fund ( UNICEF ), the International Organization for Migration ( IOM ), Save the Children International ( SCI ), the United Nations Population Fund ( UNFPA ), Arab Council Supporting Fair Trial and Human Rights , Caritas Egypt , CARE International , Egypt Foundation for Refugee Rights , the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood ( NCCM ), and the National Council for Women ( NCW ).
CURRENT SITUATION
By the end of December 2017 , 92,524 African , Iraqi and Yemeni asylum-seekers and refugees were registered with UNHCR , compared to 77,362 by the end of 2016 , 62,983 by the end of 2015 , and 53,319 by the end of 2014 . These refugee populations are dispersed throughout Egypt including in remote areas with the vast majority living in Greater Cairo ( 96 per cent ). Some 41 per cent of all African , Yemeni and Iraqi households are female-headed , while 29 per cent of all asylum-seekers and refugees are children . UNHCR Egypt registers and processes 57 nationalities of asylum-seekers for RSD . The largest refugee populations originate from sub- Saharan Africa ( Sudan , Ethiopia , South Sudan , Somalia , Eritrea , etc .) and the Middle East ( Iraq and Yemen ). Sudanese applicants represent 39 per cent of the asylum-seeker population .
UNHCR registers asylum-seekers who approach its offices in Cairo and Alexandria seeking international protection . Upon registration , any asylum-seeker above the age of 12 years receives an individual UNHCR asylum-seeker card ( commonly referred to as the ‘ yellow card ’). Once recognized as a refugee following RSD procedures , they are issued with a refugee card ( also called ‘ blue card ’). Undocumented asylum-seekers who cannot prove their identity , are issued an asylumseeker certificate . Asylum-seekers and refugees use their UNHCR cards to apply for residence permits in Egypt .
As their stay in Egypt may last several years , protection partners support sub-Saharan African , Iraqi , and Yemeni refugees residing in Egypt with multi-sectoral services , legal counselling , and community-based protection activities . Some refugees report incidents related to physical and legal protection and challenges in accessing civil documentation , birth registration , residency , education , and health , for which they are assisted on an individual basis through protection counselling . Although refugees and asylum-seekers are entitled to legal remedies , some face difficulties in accessing them due to language barriers or as a result of being unaware of their entitlements or the legal remedies available . During the counselling process , special attention is given to the protection needs of refugees with specific needs who are more likely to face social exclusion , exposure to violence , exploitation , and deprivation of family care .
Civil registration of sub-Saharan African refugees remains a priority intervention , in particular , access to birth registration . This especially concerns children born in certain circumstances or in rural and remote areas , and children whose parents ’ marriage cannot be authenticated . Protection partners work on expanding their efforts to identify and assist such cases , including early identification of cases through partners and communities for early counselling and processing of birth event registration . Since 2015 , their efforts which included mass information , capacity-building , training , and awareness-raising activities for national institutions have resulted in reducing the number of cases not having obtained civil documentation at birth ; thus minimizing the risk of statelessness and enabling the concerned asylum-seekers and refugees to access services , particularly health and education .
As the refugee population continues to be diverse and dispersed notably within Greater Cairo , providing quality services and effectively disseminating information in particular to vulnerable persons and to women and girls , who often restrict their movement due to protection concerns or community pressure , remains challenging . This is addressed through support to communities to help themselves and to identify issues of concern so that they can be reported to protection partners .
The loss of hope in a resolution of the situation in their country of origin , coupled with a perceived lack of future in Egypt , including limited higher education and work opportunities , insufficient humanitarian assistance to cover the basic needs , increasing cost of living and inflation , and the stretched economic situation have contributed to a recorded increase of irregular departures of refugees and migrants by sea in 2016 . In 2017 , the situation of irregular departures of refugees and migrants from the North Coast of Egypt has seen a dramatic change , and the number of foreign nationals
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