UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Published purpose

24 March, 2011 - The North Africa and the Middle East region hosts and produces a large number of refugees in need of durable solutions, the majority of Iraqi origin. One and a half million Iraqis are displaced within the country and more than a million others are putting a serious strain on the asylum systems and affecting the socio-economic conditions of the host countries, notably Syria and Jordan. In the absence of a political solution for Western Sahara, the prospect of a solution for Sahrawi refugees in Algeria remains remote, leaving refugees completely dependent on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’(UNHCR) assistance for their survival. CIDA supports UNHCR's programme which focuses on the provision of assistance and protection to the most vulnerable refugees and displaced populations by providing shelter, food, safe water and sanitation facilities and basic health care. The project aims to improve access to adequate asylum procedures through improved registration, to support the establishment of national asylum systems through targeted training, and to expand partnerships with States, governmental and non-governmental organizations and civil society institutions to promote regional protection-sensitive strategies. It expects to help bridge protection gaps and to ensure that vulnerable populations are protected according to international laws and standards.