Reports and Resources

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, UNICEF, and IRC, the International Rescue Committee, today issued a Roadmap for action to improve the situation of refugee and migrant children arriving and staying in Europe without their parents or care givers. The Roadmap highlights the need to identify children, register them through child-friendly procedures, and build a relationship of trust with them as early as possible. Ensuring that a well-trained guardian takes immediate responsibility for the child, engaging cultural mediators, and mobilizing members of host communities are critical measures that can help build a trusting relationship and protect children from smugglers, traffickers or family pressure.

This report outlines the findings from an assessment of ServiceInfo and Refugee.Info, drawing on perspectives and reflections from stakeholders across the humanitarian spectrum, including affected populations themselves.

Women and girls affected by humanitarian crisis are exposed to heightened risks of violence and exploitation. It is therefore vital that emergency response prevents violence and empowers women and girls to improve their own well-being and that of their families and communities, including through cash relief.

Today’s refugee crisis poses serious challenges to the international order. Conflict and crisis have pushed some 21 million people to seek refuge outside their home countries, including 5 million who have fled Syria since the civil war began in 2011. Approximately 76 percent of refugees live outside of camp settings, making it even more difficult to locate and reach them with essential services. Furthermore, protracted displacement has become the “new normal.” Refugees now spend an average of 10 years away from their homes, and for refugees displaced more than five years, the average is 21 years.