Sudan has a long standing disposition of hosting some 166,000 refugees and asylum-seekers from neighboring countries including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Chad, DRC, CAR and Somalia. The composition of the refugee caseload, the causes of their flight, their legal status and living environments in Sudan are varied and complex. Although, the majority of refugees in Sudan are residing in camps and rural settlements, many stay in urban locations, primarily Khartoum, Gedaref, Kassala and Port Sudan.

Sudan also receives a steady rate of newly arriving asylum seekers, mainly from Eritrea. Refugee status determination is conducted in Sudan by the government authority, Commissioner for Refugees (COR) in the refugee camps in the East and Darfur. RSD is hence not accessible in Khartoum leaving those seeking asylum in the capital undocumented and with no prompt access to asylum. In addition to those undocumented asylum seekers, a large number of those refugees who go through RSD in the camps in the East move to Khartoum shortly afterwards looking for better economic opportunities. Since Sudan maintains a reservation on article 26 of 1951 Refugee Convention relating to freedom of movement, this means that refugees are not allowed to leave their area of residence without a permit, an issue which presents a challenge to those individuals who moved out of the camp since they face difficulties in renewing their refugee documents, which were issued in the camps. This lack of documentation significantly increases those refugees’ and asylum seekers’ legal and physical vulnerability, exposing them to the constant risk of round-up, arrest, detention and deportation. It further limits their ability to be self-reliant and access services since without documentation, they have no access to work permits.

Furthermore, urban refugees in Khartoum endure the same hardships as do the urban poor, with limited access to basic services and no assistance by UNHCR and partners, except for certain vulnerable cases. In addition, the majority of refugees residing in Khartoum lack opportunities for formal employment and depend on daily wage jobs. The recent deterioration of the overall economic situation in Sudan further impacted the ability of urban refugees and asylum seekers make ends meet.

While it is estimated that approximately 32,000 refugees and asylum seekers are currently residing in Khartoum, this figure remains unverified since no verification process has taken place in Khartoum since the end of the Eritrean Cessation Exercise in 2004. Since 2011, UNHCR has been advocating for the adoption of an urban refugee policy in Khartoum, however in the absence of accurate data and profiling of the urban refugee population this is proving difficult.

With the enactment of the 2011 Civil Registry Act, which requires all aliens in Sudan to register with the Civil Registry and be issued with a unique foreign number, UNHCR and its government counterpart, COR, have embarked on a joint registration/verification exercise for refugees and asylum seekers residing in Khartoum, which aims at facilitating the registration of refugees and asylum seekers by the Civil Registry as well as verifying the refugee and asylum seeker population in Khartoum. The objectives of this joint process, which started in May 2013, are as follows:

1. Facilitate the registration of refugees and asylum seekers by the Civil Registry, which is a legal requirement in Sudan;
2. Ensure that both UNHCR and COR share the same data about refugees and asylum seekers residing in Khartoum through the jointly registering/verifying this population;
3. Enhance the level of documentation of refugees and asylum seekers residing in Khartoum, primarily through ensuring their registration by the Civil Registry and also through facilitating access to documentation to those who are undocumented; and
4. Facilitate access to asylum to those who are unable, due to their own profile or special needs, to seek asylum in the camps

Based on the above, UNHCR thus sees the joint registration as an important opportunity to assess the scope and profile of the urban refugee and asylum seekers, and to enhance the protection space available to them.

The current staffing level at the protection and registration units at RO Khartoum (which includes a P-4 Senior Registration Officer, P-4 Senior Protection Officer, P-3 Protection Officer, 1 NOA Assistant Protection Officer, 2 GL Legal Associates, 1 GL 5 Senior Protection Assistant and 2 GL-4 Database Assistants) is not adequate to meet the operational needs for this large process.

 Host Agency/Host Institute:    The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)                             

  Organizational Context:          The Office of the UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. In more than five decades, the agency has helped people restart their lives. Today, a staff of around 6,650 people in more than 110 countries continues to help 34.4 million people.

In Sudan, UNHCR is providing assistance and protection to more than 166,000 refugees and asylum-seekers. UNHCR is working in close collaboration with the Sudanese authorities, particularly the Sudanese Commissioner for Refugees (COR), which is UNHCR’s main governmental counterpart. COR is also the main partner in the joint registration process and the incumbent will be working in close collaboration with COR staff as well as with the Civil Registry staff.  

Under the direct supervision of the P-3 Protection Officer, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Interview refugees and asylum seekers at the joint registration with the aim of identifying persons with specific needs, such as unaccompanied and separated children, women at risk, serious medical cases and disabilities, and record all cases in the ProGres database;
• Identify and flag cases of individuals which are considered Urgent or Emergency, as per the Standard Operating Procedures;
• Ensure follow up of cases that require further councelling or services;
• Provide support, on-the-job- training and build the capacity of COR staff who are taking part in the exercise;
• Provide reports on the registration process and identify the prevailing trends, as required;
• Conduct interviews and councelling of individual cases, including drafting referral forms and vulnerability assessments, as required.
• Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR policy, standards and codes of conduct;
• Perform other duties as required.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark IVD);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
• Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities;
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
• Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

 Results/Expected Output:

• Registration and verification of urban refugees and asylum seekers is completed in line with the Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs)
• Facilitate the registration of refugees and asylum seekers residing in Sudan through screening, interviewing and verification of family composition as appropriate and in line with the SOPs
• Ensure that all applicants coming forward for registration/verification are assisted and are dealt with in line with the process SOPs
• The capacity of COR staff working on the joint registration is built and enhanced

A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such

• Completion of  secondary school
• Minimum 2 years of relevant professional job experience, preferably in the area of refugee protection, human rights or international humanitarian law.

• Additional Training courses in protection related issues required
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills.
• Age, Gender, and Diversity (AGD) awareness and demonstrated ability to perform effectively in a multi-cultural environment.
• Good computer skills.
• The ability to work effectively under stress and in crisis situations.
• Fluency in English and Arabic

  Conditions of Service

Contract is issued for 12 months at a time (renewable depending on mandate, availability of funding, operational necessity and/or satisfactory performance). Monthly Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) – intended to cover housing, utilities, and normal cost-of-living expenses – is equivelant to $638 USD per month. Life, health and permanent disability insurances are included, and resettlement allowance. UNV will provide a copy of the UNV Conditions of Service to the successful candidate together with the offer of assignment