Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP)

An integrated humanitarian and development plan in response to the Syria Crisis
Arrangements for burden- & responsibility-sharing

Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP)

An integrated humanitarian and development plan in response to the Syria Crisis

The project in brief

 

 

 

Implemented by

United Nations Development Program UNDP and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR 

Country

Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.

Duration

2015 - Ongoing

Description

In 2015, the international community instituted a new approach to meet the challenges facing the countries hosting Syrian refugees. The Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) combined humanitarian and development responses into a single plan, under UNHCR and UNDP. It addresses the protection and humanitarian needs of refugees as well the resilience, stabilization and development needs of impacted people and institutions. 

Project aims 

Enhancing local and national capacities across the region to provide protection and essential socio-economic services; foster durable solutions, and increase opportunities for impacted communities to realize dignified lives. 

Access to protection, non-refoulement, registration, strengthening of the protection space, prevention of violence and exploitation, case processing, facilitation of referrals and identification of possible solutions. 

Pursuing durable solutions so refugees no longer have specific assistance and protection needs linked to their displacement and can enjoy their human rights without discrimination. 

Supporting Dignified Lives: addressing the multiple deprivations facing refugees and vulnerable host populations and supporting enabling conditions and opportunities for all to lead a dignified life. 

We can now work with ease and we can work anywhere in construction. Employers feel more at ease with us having work permits. There is now mutual trust.

- Fares Tahinah

Flexible work permits have allowed thousands of Syrian refugees working in agriculture and construction to access formal employment. Fares Tahinah, a Syrian refugee who was supported by the International Labour Organization to obtain a flexible work permit, says the permit has made it easier for him to find more regular and formal employment in Jordan. 

Resources used 

The Global Compact on Refugees, 2018 

Main activities of the Good Practice

The 3RP is a strategic, coordination, planning, advocacy, fundraising, and programming platform for humanitarian and development partners to respond to the Syria crisis. It comprises one regional plan, with five standalone country chapters covering Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt.  

National leadership and capacities are at the forefront, with 270 UN agencies, international and national NGOs and other partners in a supporting role under the leadership of UNDP and UNHCR. 

The 3RP has two interconnected components addressing the protection and humanitarian assistance needs of refugees as well as the resilience, stabilization and development needs of impacted individuals, communities and institutions, aiming to strengthen the capacities of national actors. 

Partners

  • 270 UN agencies, international and national NGOs and other partners
  • Governments of host countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egyp
  • Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxemburg, Malta, Poland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Indonesia, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, United Kingdom, United States of America. 

Challenges and how they were overcome

Challenges

The arrival of COVID-19 brought profound economic and social distress across the region. Many people among refugee and host communities lost their livelihoods and were pushed further into poverty and with savings exhausted, struggled to put food on the table or access critical social services. Most 3RP countries are confronting economic recessions and rising levels of unemployment and poverty. In several countries, host governments are facing mounting fiscal challenges to provide services for all those in need. 

How they were overcome

The 3RP stepped up its response in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue this into 2021, with some ten million people targeted for support across the region. This year’s 3RP offers a USD$ 5.8 billion comprehensive plan across the five countries. Underpinned by the strong partnership between UNHCR and UNDP, the 3RP continues to adapt and strives to provide a response that helps to meet protection and other acute needs, as well as enhancing the resilience capacities of individuals, families, and the national and local institutions supporting them. 

Results of the Good Practice

  • 5,600,180 total number of Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR as of 17 March 2021 
  • 3,989,110 total number of directly targeted members of impacted communities in 2020 
  • Partners have reached 1.9 million people with food assistance, enrolled 1.1 million children in education and provided 3.4 million consultations in primary health care.
  • Half a million people have received cash assistance, over 44,000 individuals helped into employment and 76,920 work permits issued to Syrian refugees in Jordan since 2016. 
  • Over 3.4 million children were reached with protection programming in 2019. 
  • Partners have worked to reduce the percentage of Syrian children born in the region without any form of identity documents from 35 percent in 2012 to 3.3 percent in 2019. 
  • Civil documentation remains vital to enable access to education, healthcare and employment; innovations include pioneering the use of Iris Biometrics to conduct registration and operations.
  • Partners have increased the support for strengthening public institutions across the region. Spending on resilience has doubled from 2015 to 2019, reaching $1.07 billion. 
  • Vulnerable communities in Lebanon have been supported with over 1,150 projects, helping to alleviate resource pressure and address the immediate needs of municipalities. 

 

My plans are to graduate from university, continue my higher education, and then, when I return to Syria, start my own business, opening a centre to teach English courses.

- Rahaf (21), Syrian refugee on a UNHCR supported scholarship, living in Beqaa, Lebanon 

How the project meets the GCR Objectives

Objective 1: Ease the pressures on host countries

The 3RP has led the way in terms of the international community’s support to national efforts to deal with the impact of the crisis in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.  

Objective 2: Enhance refugee self-reliance

3RP addresses the protection and humanitarian needs of refugees as well the resilience, stabilization and development needs of impacted people and institutions. 

Next steps

3RP partners will also seek to redouble efforts on two important fronts. First, working concretely towards securing durable solutions for refugees, including enhancing our efforts on resettlement and related to voluntary, safe and dignified return. Second, to strengthen our work across the Humanitarian-Development Nexus and better connect our response with longer term national strategies for inclusive growth and sustainable development. This in line with the Global Compact for Refugees and will be key to preserving progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in host countries. The 3RP pledges to strengthen coordination and collaborations with all national and international stakeholders, including International Finance Institutions and the private sector, to make this a reality.