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Re: Refugee Work Rights Coalition, Concept Note
REFUGEE WORK RIGHTS COALITION
Concept Note
Overview:
The Refugee Work Rights Coalition is a collection of human rights NGOs, academics, advocates and members from the private sector who are committed to promoting refugee empowerment through employment. The Coalition acknowledges that permitting refugees to work in the formal market reduces dependency on humanitarian aid, restores dignity and leads to the realization of a range of other fundamental rights. To achieve its goal of making refugees’ access to safe and lawful employment a right that is observed globally, the Coalition engages in harmonized joint-advocacy, the exchange of country information and the provision of professional guidance regarding best practices and lessons learned.
Specifically, the Coalition takes steps to:
a.) Create a network of information sharing to expound the social, economic, legal and/or political landscapes that enable or inhibit refugees’ access to work.
b.) Advocate for and facilitate legislative change to ensure that domestic laws and policies enshrine refugees’ right to work as set forth in international and regional human rights law.
c.) Where the legal protection of refugees’ work rights exists domestically, monitor and evaluate state observance of these labor protections.
d.) Foster and strengthen collaboration between stakeholders, offering practical advice on mainstreaming livelihood initiatives;
e.) Increase UNHCR funding for livelihood and self-reliance initiatives;
f.) Engage a range of UN human rights actors, including OHCHR and UN treaty-monitoring bodies, such as the Committee of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
g.) Develop partnerships with non-traditional actors such as development and private sector actors to explore innovative and unexplored approaches for implementing livelihood initiatives.
h.) Expand involvement of refugee-serving NGOs in livelihoods advocacy, both through the Coalition and independently;
i.) Ensure the active and on-going involvement of refugees in the setting of goals, objectives and activities for the Coalition; and
j.) Build awareness amongst the broader public to raise the visibility of and support for refugees’ work rights.
Relevance:
The right to work is central to one’s dignity, feelings of self-worth and inclusion of society. Employment is the means through which an individual may realize a range of other civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Despite the critical importance of the right, the vast majority of refugees are denied access to lawful employment within their first country of refuge. The consequences of these policies, which contravene international and regional human rights law, are far-reaching. Refugees who are denied access to safe and lawful employment are denied the opportunity to find dignity in exile, often exposed to exploitation, extreme levels of poverty, trafficking and other serious rights violations. Likewise, without a right to work refugees are forced to rely on humanitarian aid for years on end and are unable to positively contribute to the socio-economic landscape of host countries. For these reasons, the Coalition believes that a strategy of global advocacy to guarantee refugees’ right to work is imperative.
UNHCR and other leading refugee-serving organizations, such as Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) have recently emphasized in reports and public statements the importance of the right to work. Guiding principles on best practice and standards have been emerged most notably in the following documents:
§ UNHCR Policy on Refugee Protection and Solutions in Urban Areas (UNHCR, 2009);
§ Promoting Livelihoods and Self-Reliance: Operational Guidance on Refugee Protection and Solutions in Urban Areas (UNHCR, 2011);
§ Investing in Solutions: A Practical Guide for the Use of Microfinance in UNHCR Operations (UNHCR, 2011);
§ Livelihood Programming in UNHCR: Operational Guidelines (UNHCR, 2012); and
§ Building Livelihoods: A Field Manual for Practitioners in Humanitarian Settings (Women’s Refugee Commission, 2009).
The Coalition strives to improve upon and ensure the implementation of the key principles and strategies expounded within these documents.
Overarching Goals:
§ Change national refugee law and policy to respect the right to work for refugees;
§ Increase the commitment of UNHCR, ILO and other development actors to promote and facilitate the right to work at the international, regional and domestic level;
§ Engage non-traditional actors from the private sector in the advocacy and promotion of the right to work and livelihood initiatives; and
§ Raise awareness and engage more directly with refugee organizations at all levels.
Proposed Activities for FY 2013-2014:
1. Refugee Work Rights Global Report
The Coalition intends to publish a report by July 2014 identifying the landscape for refugee work rights in the following countries:
Ø Asia: Hong Kong, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand
Ø Africa: Kenya, South Africa, Sudan Tanzania, Uganda
Ø Europe: Germany, Greece
Ø Latin America: Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama
Ø North America: Canada, United States
Ø Middle East: Iran, Jordan, Morocco
The report will include:
a.) The current legal framework for refugees’ work rights within each of the respective countries, including the laws permitting/prohibiting refugees from accessing employment, and relevant labor laws applicable to employers hiring refugees.
b.) Survey data expounding the reported barriers that refugees face when attempting to access employment within the respective countries.
c.) Research analyzing the economic benefits that refugees have brought host countries protecting the right to work.
d.) An analysis of best practices for increasing refugee self-sufficiency and self-reliance, specifically including a consideration of the Transitional Solutions Initiative (TSI) adopted in east Sudan.
e.) A set of recommendations for the major stakeholders to re-align policy and practice.
The Refugee Work Rights Global Report will be accompanied with an ambitious campaign to provoke stakeholder action for the proposed recommendations. The advocacy campaign will specifically include a:
Ø Coordinated Advocacy Day 2014 (see details below);
Ø Media Campaign, with the support of urbanrefugees.com; and
Ø A presentation of the salient points of the report at the Livelihoods and Self-Reliance panel at UNHCR-NGO Consultations.
The report will be seek to engage, inform and advice the following stakeholders:
Ø UNHCR (Livelihoods Unit)
Ø UNDP
Ø OHCHR and other UN human rights actors, including treaty-monitoring bodies, such as ICESCR,
Ø World Bank
Ø ILO
Ø Members from the Private Sector
Ø UNHCR Urban Refugees Task Force
2. Advocacy Day 2014
During the week of UNHCR-NGO Consultations in Geneva, Coalition members will organize a series of meetings with the above-mentioned stakeholders. Expected outputs of the meetings include: recognition of refugee work rights as a protection priority; commitments to action proposed recommendations, fostering relationships for improved collaboration; sharing of knowledge and lessons learned; and the development of joint-strategic plans for the implementation of livelihood objectives.
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