UNHCR - "Contribution in support of people of concern to UNHCR in Lebanon, Syria, Mali and Niger"

Since the dire situation related to internal conflicts, climate change and terrorism in the bordering countries, Mali witnesses a continuous influx of people fleeing their countries to seek protection, as well as internal displacement due to the continuous jihadist attacks and deterioration of the climatic situation in many villages within its territory. Currently, Mali is hosting 47,804 refugees and asylum seekers coming from different Sahelian countries, especially Niger and Burkina Faso. In Mali, increased clashes between armed groups in the tri-border area (Liptako Gourma), bordering Burkina Faso and Niger, as well as the escalation of insecurity in the centre of the country spreading widely to the south (Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast), continue to cause and increase further forced displacement. Protection monitoring reports highlight cases of killing, maiming, assault, arbitrary arrest, recruitment by non-state armed groups, and gender-based violence (GBV), including forced marriage and sexual violence. In addition, extortion of property, theft of livestock, and destruction of agricultural space deprive people of their livelihoods. Regular attacks on public infrastructure such as schools, health centres, bridges, and roads limit humanitarian access and the provision of basic services. As a result of continued insecurity in Mali, internal displacement continues to grow reaching a total of more than 370,548 IDPs in April 2022. Despite the situation, 84,527 Malian returnees came back to their place of origin still experiencing difficult living conditions and facing several challenges for better socio-economic reintegration. In a context of persistent socio-economic and political crisis, also marked by the economic sanctions imposed on the country by West African sub-regional organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the already difficult humanitarian and protection situation and has contributed to the increase in GBV and economic difficulties. UNHCR aims to strengthen the protection environment in conflict-affected regions hosting displaced populations in Mali and will work with its partners to reinforce interventions to cover the identification and registration of refugees, to cover the basic needs of these populations and to strengthen the support to GBV survivors. The UNHCR and partners interventions, such as protection response and multipurpose assistance in supporting the displaced persons, are part of the 2022 Mali Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for strategic coordination on the assistance of refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees and also host communities. The project aims at supporting vulnerable displaced persons (refugees and internally displaced persons) through the reinforcement of the protection environment in the North and the Centre of Mali. The expected results are:

Attaining favorable protection Environments Registration and documentation While the region continues to witness the degradation of the security situation (particularly in Burkina Faso and Niger), Mali faces a continuous flow of forced displacement within its borders. UNHCR will continue to reinforce joint registration and verification activities with its governmental partner, the National Commission in Charge of Refugees (CNCR), through:  Ensuring level 2 and biometric registration of refugees. UNHCR will continue its partnership with the Government to ensure registration and access to documentation for all asylum seekers and refugees hosted in refugee sites (Anderamboukane, Ishinane, Inekar, Agzragane and Tamalat). Registration is conducted by specialised staff through a protection interview, which will determine if the person can apply for international protection (refugee status). Those beneficiaries eligible for the refugee status will receive a refugee certificate, which protects them against refoulement, allows access to rights and basic assistance, and facilitates freedom of movement in Mali.  Capacity building for CNCR agents on registration and refugee status determination. Agents from the government entity and UNHCR partner CNCR will continue to be trained to ensure the quality and integrity of the registration process and the confidential treatment of sensitive data Gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response The increase of protection incidents due to the situation in the country and related to gender-based violence (GBV) remains a major priority in Mali, in alignment with UNHCR Strategic Directions for 2022-2026. UNHCR will continue to reinforce the protection response toward its beneficiaries, mobilizing roving service teams composed of a social worker, a health care worker and a psychosocial assistant which will offer medical, psychosocial, and legal support in three localities, in Kayes (North-West), Koro (in central Mopti region, and Anderamboukane (northern Menaka region), not covered by these holistic services. UNHCR and its partners will also continue to distribute essential Non-food items (NFIs) to GBV survivors, such as hygiene kits and baby kits. UNHCR and partners will also provide support to GBV survivors through several activities which will enhance-economic integration and self-empowerment. Realizing Basic Rights in Safe Environments Basic needs/Multipurpose assistance UNHCR remains the responsible humanitarian agency to assist and ensure access to protection and direct assistance to refugees while these are not ensured by the hosting country and/or other humanitarian actors. This is the case in Mali, where most refugees completely rely on UNHCR assistance to cover their basic needs, including food, NFIs, education and health. For refugees (from Burkina Faso and Niger) located in Gao, Mopti, Tombouctou and Menaka UNHCR operation in Mali has been using cash transfer to aid cover their basic needs. Shelter/NFIs The effects of conflicts and climate change are boosting the degradation of living conditions for all those populations already living in fragile and precarious environments. These aggravating factors - as well as shifted wind regimes, seasonal disruption and air masses movement, waterways removal, numerous vector-borne diseases, malaria, and rural exodus – contribute to trigger first and secondary internal forced displacement of people largely affected by heavy rains, subsurface water levels increase, and storms more and more violent and recurrent