Current Emergency Registration Processes & Key Activities in Parthia

South East Province (Refugees in Parni and Arta Urban Areas)

  • One Business Unit created in proGres v4 for the country operation.
  • UNHCR and Parthian Government conduct joint registration activities in the compound of the Immigration and Asylum Bureau using PRIMES proGres v4 and BIMS.
  • Refugees are registered individually, no Group pre-registration is conducted.
  • All four Registration Assistants and Senior ODM Assistant are involved in the process, along with a government-hired registration team of four.
  • All three RSD Associates, along with two IRC staff are identifying persons with Specific Needs.
  • Group Proof of Registration documents are issued to Registration Groups, and individual ID cards issued to registered individuals 12 years and above.
  • Persons affiliated with fighting forces identified during registration are being referred to government for Demobilization, Decommissioning and Rehabilitation (DDR).
  • Due to the large numbers of new arrivals now in the SE Province, continuous registration activities have been significantly reduced/mostly halted.
  • Delays in the registration of new births has created impediments for families needing access to medical and other services.

South West Province

All continuous registration activities have been halted with all human and material resources redirected to registration activities in the two Transit Centres (Aria and Darius) and two Refugee Camps (Byzantium and Hatra).

TRANSIT CENTRES (TC) – ARIA AND DARIUS (FOR EACH):

  • Capacity: TC holds 1,000 individuals at any given time (although there many thousands more refugees settling near the TC – see map in Registration Factsheet).
  • Staffing:
    - Registration staffing (see Parthian Registration Response page);
    - Hope of Smiles (LNGO): responsible for day-to-day management of TC; two staff and 10 community
      workers/volunteers. 
  • Total: 200 Registration Groups pre-registered/day (1,000 individuals).
  • Group pre-Registration processes:
    -     Refugees arriving at the Transit Centres are given a flyer in English/Parthian explaining the TC and camp
      registration processes. This information is also replicated in posters;
    - Using excel data collection – sending copies of excel files to camp Reception Centres;
    - No biometric data is collected;
    - Documentation:
            ~ UNHCR fixing token with names of Group Focal Point and size marked – allows for food and other
               assistance;
            ~ Wristbands (limited stock available) issued to those with highly visible needs (unaccompanied or
               separated children, people with physical injuries, disabilities, or seriously ill);
    - Unaccompanied or separated children are placed with ICRC.
  • Transportation:
    -     UNHCR team generates passenger manifests by printed spreadsheets for relocation to camps; shares with
      IOM – lists Group Focal Point, Group Size, and Group Unique Numbers;
    - IOM: responsible for transportation; 2 staff;
    - Vehicles:
            ~ 20 buses (65-seaters) – two trips/day (2,600 individuals);
            ~ Two trucks to transport luggage – multiple trips/day;
    - Luggage:
            ~ Refugees leave luggage at collection point before boarding buses to camps;
            ~ No luggage manifests prepared by IOM for travel so refugees tie cloths, etc to bags. 
  • Security:
    -     SW Provincial Police (10 officers) and 20 Parthian security personnel; 
    - Focused on preventing entry of prohibited items/weapons into TC, not crowd control, etc. 
  • Shelter and NFIs: IOM is distributing NFIs and Raise the Roof (LNGO, UNHCR Implementing partner) is supporting with temporary shelter assistance.
  • Medical:
    -     Staffing: Parthian Red Cross (4 nurses) and MSF; 
    - Medical screening and out-patient services.

Challenges/Constraints

  • Government registration supervisors are not capable of managing the complexity of the Transit Centres; the staff they hired are not well trained or reliable.
  • Delays in pre-Registration rates has led to transportation delays. To address this, IOM has begun to transport refugees without passenger manifests, causing internal insurance concerns. IOM is now threatening to conduct its own group registration with individual names to build their own passenger manifests for transportation purposes.
  • Reports that some male refugees are registering multiple times to receive additional ration cards.
  • Desperate to get registered, some families keep a member constantly in the queue or lay stones to mark their spot; some violent incidents have been reported.
  • Large numbers of refugees who had initially settled in other areas are now travelling to TC to get registered, settling nearby – these numbers have ballooned in recent weeks, posing difficulties for TC management and overwhelming facilities.
  • Shelter support is limited, leaving many vulnerable refugees without. Some have been able to purchase UNHCR plastic sheets in local markets.
  • Sanitation facilities are overwhelmed, raising concerns of cholera outbreak.
  • Some refugees who had arrived/settled in Parthia in previous years are beginning to approach the TCs seeking assistance to be relocated to the camps. Some are seeking to unite with family who have recently arrived; others are seeking better/easier access to services; others are experiencing increasing tensions with local/host communities.
  • People with highly visible specific needs are given a yellow wristband (unaccompanied or separated children, people with physical injuries, disabilities, or seriously ill) but without indicating what the specific need is; nor are they referred to adequate services as there are no protection services currently operating at the Transit Centres besides the ICRC’s tracing and reunification activities. Groups with specific needs are not currently prioritised for transportation.
  • UNICEF is unhappy about the lack of data available on children with specific needs when they arrive in the camps and has complained about this to UNHCR.

REGISTRATION PROCESSES IN CAMPS – BYZANTIUM AND HATRA (FOR EACH):

Arrival at camp – Reception Centre:

  • Staffing (see Parthinian Registration Response page).
  • On arrival at camp, refugees are placed in Reception Centre where they’re given briefings (and flyers) on the procedures and processes for registration and Group Focal Points are issued appointments for family members to be individually registered.
  • Due to many refugees now arriving at the camps without being pre-registered, and general confusion about the accuracy of records produced at the TCs, UNHCR/Gov. have decided to conduct Group pre-Reg. at the Reception Centres for new arrivals, using proGres v4 – Reception Module.
  • Team of (initially two, now four – see challenges below) Registration staff issues appointments to groups that arrive from the TCs, indicating the date when households/groups should appear at Registration Centre for individual registration.
  • The appointments are recorded on Appointment Slips (given to refugee Group Focal Points) and a notification is made in proGres v4.

Individual registration – Registration Centre:

  • Registration staffing (see Parthinian Registration Response page); additional 10 refugee volunteers to assist with movement of refugees through registration processes.
  • Total: Approx. 500/day.
  • UNHCR/Parthian Government conduct joint individual registration activities using PRIMES proGres v4 and BIMS.
  • 3G internet connection at Registration Centre is reliable, staff connect directly to proGres v4 and BIMS central.
  • Refugees wait outside the Registration Centre; once admitted, they go to the main desk where they’re interviewed, their biometric data is captured (including photos), and documentation is issued.
  • Where specific needs are identified, a protection staff member is called over to assist with additional questions/initial referrals.
  • Group pre-registration records created at Reception Centres are retrieved and converted to Registration Groups before IER was conducted (see challenges below).
  • Documentation:
    - Each registered Registration Group is issued Group Proof of Registration document valid for a year and a
      UNHCR/WFP ration card;
    - Each individual 12 years and above issued a Parthian Government Refugee Identity Certificate.
  • Food: WFP have started to do emergency food distribution at the camps using SCOPE and issuing a SCOPE card. Because passenger manifests aren’t available and many refugees haven’t been individually registered, they’re registering individuals for the SCOPE card separately.
  • Child protection: UNICEF has registered children in their case management database, Primero.

Challenges/Constraints:

  • Conducting Group pre-Registration at the Reception Centres has caused substantial delays in assigning camp plots.
  • People with yellow wristbands (indicating specific needs from the Transit Centres) are being approached by multiple organisations seeking further information to provide assistance/protection.
  • Refugees are given unclear messages when they arrive at the camps, with registration staff giving varied/confused messages; many refugees are unable to read the pamphlets/flyers.
  • Many refugees are unable to find their luggage once it arrives and is left at the reception centre in the camps.
  • At the Registration Centres, bottlenecks are causing significant delays; many refugees are told to return the next day and are given a new appointment; Reception Centre team are not informed about the rescheduling of refugees by the Registration Centre team.
  • Many refugees have low literacy levels and are unable to read/speak English or Parthian.
  • There is constant overcrowding at the Registration Centre: refugees rescheduled from previous day(s) are mixing with refugees holding appointment slips for current day.
  • With delays at the Reception and Registration Centres, approximately two-thirds of all refugees still waiting to be registered (for total number registered, see Registration Fact Sheet).
  • As with the Transit Centres, the Government registration supervisors are unable to manage/respond to the many significant issues now arising.
  • Government registration staff are unreliable – most have received little to no training; there are frequent absences and late arrivals; pay is poor.
  • There are long wait times and no structured waiting area/process, causing health and protection/security issues.

Download the Operational Context Factsheet