Inter-agency partnerships

UNHCR and ILO sign new agreement to help displaced people find work

Agencies expand collaboration to find long-term solutions for refugees and others displaced by conflict and persecution.

Press release | 01 July 2016
Volker Türk, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, and Deborah Greenfield, ILO Deputy Director-General for Policy
GENEVA (ILO News) – Amid rising forced displacement as a result of conflict and persecution and other causes, the United Nations High Comissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) today agreed a new understanding to promote employment opportunities for refugees and other forcibly displaced persons.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed on 1 July 2016 at ILO headquarters, is expected to open a new and deeper phase of collaboration between the ILO and UNHCR.

The agreement focuses on long-term solutions for refugees and others displaced by conflict and persecution. As part of the wider UN response to the Syrian refugee crisis, the ILO has adopted a development-focused and employment-driven strategy to support host communities and refugees to maintain and reinforce the social and economic stability of the neighbouring countries affected.

The agreement, which builds on an earlier one from 1983, was signed by Deborah Greenfield, ILO Deputy Director-General for Policy, and Volker Türk, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection.

“These alarming displacement trends cannot be dealt with by stopgap measures. This MoU will enable our two agencies to join forces and promote comprehensive durable solutions enabling refugees and other forcibly displaced persons to obtain decent work, while protecting their rights and supporting the countries and communities hosting refugees,” said Greenfield.

“Allowing refugees and other forcibly displaced persons to get jobs helps them fend for themselves, restore confidence, and rebuild their lives, but just as importantly it allows them to contribute economically to the communities they are part of,” said Volker Türk, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection.

The MoU identifies eight common priorities, including the promotion of solutions and protection of refugees’ rights, and advocates inclusive and equal treatment in access to decent work and livelihoods, as well as social protection. It also seeks to ensure support to local communities, countering the economic exploitation of those displaced and eradicating child labour.

The two agencies will also enhance their cooperation through systematic collaboration at the global, regional and country level, taking a cross-border approach wherever possible. Cooperation will include assessments, joint research, data collection and analysis, training and capacity building, as well as integrated policy approaches. Joint advocacy activities will be developed to promote an inclusive approach to integration in labour markets and access to livelihood opportunities and social protection, as well as other measures.

A Plan of Action to be developed over the coming three months will define the concrete steps to be taken based on the areas of collaboration identified in the MoU.