Internship (Protection CBP Unit) – INT081 – Internship Contract - Beirut, Lebanon

Organizational context

Eight years into the Syria crisis, Lebanon remains the country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita, with nearly 950,000  Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR, about 20,000 refugees of other origins - mostly Iraqi - and Palestine refugees under UNRWA’s mandate.  There are no formal camps for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and refugees are living in hundreds of communities and locations across the country. 

The refugee response is led by the Government and UNHCR and UNDP, supported by the international community. As the designated lead agency in the refugee response, UNHCR has established a sector-based structure in Beirut and in the field. The structure brings together over 150 UN agencies, national and international NGO partners [over 150 actors, including UN agencies, national and international NGOs and Ministries] in identifying and agreeing on the strategic priorities to address the needs of Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese communities. The Lebanon Chapter of the Response Plan falls under the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), whereby UNHCR guides the refugee response and UNDP facilitates the resilience and stabilization component.

The UNHCR operational response in Lebanon is one of the largest for the organization. Media attention and the frequency of influential high-profile visitors is high. The Office has grown substantially in the past years and is currently operating with around 650 staff. Aside from the country office in the capital city of Beirut, UNHCR has field offices in Mount Lebanon, Qobayat, Tripoli, Tyre and Zahle.

The intern will be based within the Community Services Unit in the Country Operation, which is an integral part of the Protection team. The incumbent normally reports to the Associate Protection Officer (Community-Based). 

Duties and Responsibilities

Among the most vulnerable persons with specific needs that UNHCR provides assistance to, persons with disabilities represent around 5% of the refugee population in Lebanon. These populations are vulnerable to discrimination, exploitation and violence, and face numerous barriers to accessing humanitarian assistance. UNHCR aims at ensuring that people living with disabilities have access to vital services and have the opportunity to apply their skills and capacities to benefit themselves, their families and communities. Keeping this in mind, in order to support UNHCR Lebanon’s programing in favor of persons with disabilities, the intern will:

• Undertake a desk review of available data on persons with disabilities (PWDs) and studies on disability programming and inclusion
• Contribute to updating existing note on Disability Programming in Lebanon
• Support the Unit with the development and implementation of a work plan to support PWDs
• Support the development a matrix to follow up recommendation for a regional report on PWD
• Contribute to the development of a minimum packages of interventions for PWDs
• Support conducting a mapping exercise of interventions across field offices to mainstream needs and initiatives, etc. 
• Provide administrative support to prepare relevant meetings