Parthian Refugee Registration Response

Background: UNHCR in Parthia

(For details on Numidia and the crisis, see Numidia Fact Sheet and Numidia Map)

UNHCR commenced operations in Parthia in 2012 when refugees arriving from Numidia, fleeing the civil war, quickly and significantly outstripped the Parthian Government’s capacity to respond.

UNHCR established its Representation Office (RO) in the capital, Parni. In the South West Province, it established a Field Office (FO) in Byzantium (the provincial capital and a trade hub), and a Field Unit in Hatra, approximately 100km north-west of Byzantium.

After the Numidian peace deal was signed and the civil war ended (2014), many refugees wished, and were supported, to return home over a period of a few years. However, a sizeable number (55,000 individuals) preferred to remain in Parthia, which the Parthian government supported.

Since then, UNHCR has worked with the Parthian government to support these refugees and others who arrived between 2017 and 2020 (13,750 individuals). Of this number, 4,556, found their way to the Parni and 3,078 to Arta in the Southeast. (For numbers and locations of refugees, see Registration Fact Sheet.) 

UNHCR REPRESENTATION OFFICE ACTIVITIES PRIOR TO CURRENT REFUGEE EMERGENCY:

(See also UNHCR Registration Operations Map; See Partnerships, Stakeholders and Coordination page for more details on working with government)

  • UNHCR and Parthian government jointly conducted individual registration using UNHCR PRIMES tools (proGres v4 and BIMS) that were rolled out to the operation a year ago.
  • Case management, including protection counselling, resettlement processing, and appropriate assistance (delivered weekly).
  • Livelihood support and conditional cash-based transfer programmes for vulnerable refugees.
  • Continuous registration (recording new births, death, family composition changes, etc), and new arrival registration conducted jointly with the government’s registration team (Registration Assistants and Snr. ODM Assistant).
  • Basic biodata regularly shared with the Parthian government’s civil registration agency for issuance of birth certificates to persons of concern (in South East and South West Provinces).
  • Similar data sharing for refugees aged 12 and over in need of ID Cards (in South East and South West Provinces).

UNHCR FIELD OFFICE ACTIVITIES PRIOR TO CURRENT REFUGEE EMERGENCY: 

  • Delivered ongoing, regular protection and assistance services, including protection monitoring, counselling, continuous and new arrival registration, and resettlement case processing.
  • All refugees were settled in or near host communities, therefore needed to travel to UNHCR’s offices or partners for assistance; therefore, refugees in remote parts of the country benefitted less from available support.
  • Mobile registration conducted monthly for continuous registration.
  • Registration data was used by all partners, including government, to verify identities in assistance distribution and protection service delivery.

UNHCR Operations in Parthia (current emergency)

TIMELINE OF MAIN EVENTS (PREVIOUS TWO MONTHS):

  • Initially, the UNHCR operation in Parthia believed it could manage the situation without the need for an Emergency Response Team (ERT). Five days after the first group of refugees arrived in Parthia, the Protection Officer in Parni deployed a Registration Assistant and an Associate Protection Officer on mission to Byzantium to support the response efforts there.
  • Overwhelmed by the situation, the Representative requested the Assistant High Commissioner for Operations (AHC-O) to declare an emergency.
  • Nine days into the emergency, at the advice of the AHC-O, the High Commissioner (HC) declared a Level 3 emergency and requested the Country Representative to step aside for the Principal Emergency Coordinator (PEC) to assume leadership of the operation on an interim basis.
  • Five days later (14 days after the first arrivals) the PEC arrived in Parthia along with a Site Planning Officer, and immediately flew to Byzantium.
  • 14 days after arriving in Parthia, PEC made several changes (agreed to by HC):
    -  Adopts the Refugee Coordination Model to develop coordination structure and foster inclusive 
       engagement with partners;
    -  Made an ERT request (Emergency WASH, Public Health, Supply officers – Registration to be included at
       a later date); 
    -  Elevates FO Byzantium to a Sub-Office, headed by a P5, and hires additional staff (5 Registration
       Assistants);
    -  Elevates FU Hatra to Field Office, headed by P4, and hires additional staff (4 Registration Assistants and
       1 Registration Associate);
    -  Establishes two Transit Centres in Aria (9km inland) and Darius (8km inland), with government approval.

CURRENT REGISTRATION STAFFING ARRANGEMENTS – SW PROVINCE:

Download the Operational Context Factsheet