Refugee Status Determination Associate – G6 – BEY072 – UNOPS Contract

General Background

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 RSD Associate is a member of the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) team. The incumbent will conduct refugee status determination interviews and draft RSD Assessments for regular cases as well as more complex cases presenting issues requiring an examination of the possible application of Article 1F of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The incumbent is responsible for supporting all activities related to the processing of refugee claims in the Operation.  The RSD Associate provides counselling and responds to queries from asylum seekers and refugees regarding UNHCR's RSD procedures, their rights and obligations, including towards the host authorities and the status of the processing of their claims.  In discharging these responsibilities, the RSD Associate liaises closely with Registration, Community Services, Resettlement, and other Protection staff.  

The RSD Associate is responsible for conducting COI and other research related to RSD and maintaining the Operation's local repository of relevant information, guidelines and standards.  The RSD Associate assists in compiling and analyzing information related to the RSD activities of the Operation, and in drafting related correspondence and reports.  The RSD Associate may provide interpretation and/or translation services in cases for which s/he has the required language competencies.

Purpose and Scope of Assignment

Accountability

• UNHCR’s RSD procedures are implemented in accordance with relevant UNHCR standards and policies, including policies related to age, gender, and diversity mainstreaming (AGDM).  
• Persons of concern have fair and transparent access to the RSD procedures.
• Fraud in the RSD process is identified and appropriately addressed.

Responsibility

• Stay abreast of legal, political, security and other developments which impact on the protection environment, and in particular, on protection delivery through RSD.
• Assist in the development of the RSD strategy of the operation and in the annual planning exercise.
• Provide counselling to, and respond to queries from, asylum seekers and refugees, including in the context of the notification of negative RSD decisions.   
• Maintain accurate and up-to date records and data related to all work on individual cases.
• Assist in preventing and identifying fraud in RSD through oversight, advice and guidance to UNHCR staff, partners and persons of concern.   
• Systematically apply an age, gender and diversity (AGD) perspective in the performance of assigned functions.  
• Conduct research on country of origin information (COI) and other issues related to RSD and maintain the Operation's local repository of relevant information, guidelines and standards accessible to RSD staff in the operation. 
• Assist in monitoring RSD trends and in compiling and analysing RSD statistics related to RSD case processing.
• Assist in developing and maintaining processes to ensure that persons of concern, Government authorities and partners have accurate information on the RSD procedures, including UNHCR standards, policies and practice.
• Assist in initiatives to advocate with and support Government authorities and legal partners to establish and strengthen fair and efficient RSD procedures and RSD decision-making. 
• Draft correspondence and reports relating to the RSD activities of the Operation.

Authority

• Refer individual cases to other functional units in the Operation and/or external partners for appropriate follow-up, in accordance with established criteria.
• Counsel individual asylum-seekers on the reasons for negative RSD decisions, in accordance with the RSD SOPs.