United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. We work to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge, having fled violence, persecution, war or disaster at home.

The start of the 21st century has seen UNHCR help with major refugee crises in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. We have also been asked to use our expertise to help many internally displaced by conflict and expanded our role in helping stateless people. In some parts of the world, such as Africa and Latin America, the 1951 Refugee Conventionhas been strengthened by additional regional legal instruments.

UNHCR now has more than 11,517 members of staff. 

Read more: http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/

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Representation and empowerment of persons with disabilities
UNHCR will enhance the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities, throughout the operations management cycle, and will consult them on protection and solutions.

Timeframe and/or implementation plan: In 2018 and 2019 UNHCR will, develop a checklist for the inclusion of PwD in participatory assessments conducted throughout the year for different purposes; address the issue of participation of PwD in planning, design and implementation through a Need to Know Guidance on Working with PwD and an e-learning emphasizing strategies that foster Inclusion of PwD in humanitarian responses; develop guidance on identification of persons with disabilities in registration and other data collection processes; and documenting and disseminating good practices including on partnerships with Organisations of PwD (DPOs).

Theme: Eliminate Stigma and Discrimination
Year: 2018
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Policy, standards and regulations & Capacity building: teachers and staff
UNHCR will improve equitable access to quality education for displaced children, including refugee children with disabilities, working with partners, including governments on national system participation.

Timeframe and/or implementation plan: In close cooperation with partners, UNHCR will advocate for and work towards the inclusion of all displaced children in national education systems. UNHCR will support capacity building on inclusive education for UNHCR staff, partners, teachers and education personnel. In order to reinforce inclusive planning and programming, UNHCR will also improve data collection, identify and disseminate good practices from its education programmes (provision of assistive devices, community-based approaches...) as well as producing global recommendations. 

Theme: Inclusive Education
Year: 2018
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Access to decent work, Access to financial services & Skills development for decent work
UNHCR will invest in the capacities of persons with disabilities and will improve their access to livelihoods opportunities, on an equal basis with other persons of concern.

Timeframe and/or implementation plan: This forms part of ongoing economic inclusion initiatives for refugees. Implementation will include: 1) Supporting efforts to understand/identify reasons of levels of access to livelihoods opportunities by refugees with disability; 2) based on results of the assessment, adopt approaches/interventions that address these barriers and purposely ensure inclusion of refugees in economic inclusion programs including skills development, employment and entrepreneurial activities, financial inclusion, etc.; 3) engaging relevant partners - private sector, development and government actors -to include refugees with disabilities in their livelihoods/economic inclusion programs

Theme: Routes to Economic Empowerment
Year: 2018
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Commit to use the Washington Group questions
UNHCR will incorporate the Washington Group question set into its continuous registration process to improve identification and protection of persons with disabilities.

Timeframe and/or implementation plan: The use of Washington Group questions was piloted in Jordan. In 2018-2019 additional pilots will be implemented using different methodologies, for example the use of WG short set of 6 questions at continuous registration and the extended set at household surveys. Following the pilots, guidance will be provided on which WG-related methodology can be implemented in different data collection scenarios. Changes will be made to data collection tools accordingly.

Theme: Data Disaggregation
Year: 2018