ICMCEUROPE WelcometoEurope.pdf (5.89 MB)

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Chapter IV – The Resettlement Process: from Identification to Departure
mobile refugee field kit that provides
an overall picture of protection risks
and the application of durable solutions
- including resettlement - for
global refugee populations.
1.2. Identifying individuals in
need of resettlement
The identification of refugees at risk
and of those with specific needs among
the refugee population is established
through interviews with refugees
and their dependants - assuming
refugee status has been granted 2 - and
through an assessment of background
and country of origin information.
Identification is one of the most critical
tasks in the resettlement process, and
several tools and sources of information
are available to UNHCR staff
and partners to support this process:
• Protection profiling involves using
the UNHCR proGres database and
identifying the characteristics which
put individuals at high risk.
• Participatory assessments 3 are
structured discussions undertaken
by UNCHR with refugee women and
men of all ages and backgrounds.
The discussions focus on gathering
information on protection
needs and risks and their underlying
causes, and on individual and
2 See Chapter I, Section 3.2 for more details.
3 UNHCR Tool for Participatory Assessment in
Operations, May 2006
community capacities to respond
to these risks. Participatory assessments
do not focus specifically on
resettlement, but do enable UNHCR
to assess the feasibility of resettlement
as a durable solution.
• In addition to internal referral mechanisms,
UNHCR also accepts referrals
of individuals potentially in need of
resettlement from NGO partners.
Referrals may be made through
formal arrangements signed with the
NGOs, as a supplementary protection
activity to their main function, or on
a case-by-case basis. When delivering
services, NGOs may come
across specific protection concerns
that can only be addressed through
resettlement. UNHCR field offices
may also assess self-referrals from
individuals who believe they are in
need of resettlement, although an
over-reliance on self-referrals in identification
is considered indicative of
gaps in local protection frameworks
and operations.
• The Heightened Risk Identification
Tool (HRIT) 4 was developed by
UNHCR to improve the identification
process by linking group
and individual assessments. The
HRIT provides a methodology by
which UNHCR and its partners
can assess the risks present in
4 UNHCR, The Heightened Risk Identification Tool,
June 2010