Details Mission and objectives The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950, by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. In addition to 2.6 million of internally displaced persons, mainly, living in south/central Somalia, as of 31 August 2021, Somalia is hosting 27,184 refugees and asylum seekers in need of a durable solution. The active refugee population in Somaliland is approx. 14,000 refugees and asylum seekers as of 31 August 2021. Most of the refugees live in urban centres in Somaliland and Puntland. The majority of refugees and asylum-seekers originate from Ethiopia mainly from Oromo ethnicity while the rest are from different nationalities such as Eritrea, Yemen, Syria, and other nationalities. Context The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950, by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated by the United Nations to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees. UNHCR is guided by and acts as the guardian of the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. UNHCR also supports former refugees who have returned to their home country, people displaced within their own country, and people who are stateless or whose nationality is disputed. As of 30 June 2024, Somalia hosts 39,475 refugees and asylum seekers; the majority, 65% are from Ethiopia, followed by Yemen 30%, Syria 4% and other countries 1%. There are currently approximately 3.8 million internally displaced persons in Somalia. The political environment in Somalia is complex, and severe economic consequences resulting from the negative impact of climatic shocks, conflict, and high cost of living have exacerbated existing vulnerabilities of forcibly displaced persons. While national policies and actions, remain generally favorable towards asylum-seekers and refugees, security and economic setbacks hinder the full implementation of UNHCR’s protection and solutions’ priorities. UNHCR works with the Federal Government of Somalia, Federal Member States, UN agencies and various stakeholders including INGOs, NGOs, to achieve solutions for forcibly displaced persons aligned to the Somalia National Development Plan (2020– 2024), or (NDP-9) with an agenda of inclusive politics and reconciliation, security and the rule of law, and economic and social development, with linkages to human rights and protection, including the empowerment of women, youth, and other marginalized groups. The UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2021-2025), or (UNCF), represents the commitment of the FGS and UN to work together to achieve peace, stability, and prosperity in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals Task description Within the delegated authority of the Deputy Representative, , the Associate Protection Officer will: -Assist the Protection Cluster Coordinator (PC) with a particular emphasis on information management and communication among Cluster members and other relevant partners, as well as training and capacity –building for members and partners; -Interact with PC members and maintain close contact with OCHA for the collection and transmission of periodic reports and documents required; elaborate routines for the timely production of these reports; -Ensure liaison with thematic working groups (Area of Responsibility – AoRs) under the PC (SGBV, Child Protection, House Land and Property Issues), as well as Protection working groups /focal points at the territorial Level and national protection cluster to ensure follow-up of recommendations and alerts, input into joint analysis and advocacy initiatives, and into protection strategies; -Compile and review thematic information/data from PC members with a view to drafting a consolidate Protection Cluster periodic newsletters on a monthly basis; -Assist in the collection of information and analysis of protection data, in the form of reports and/or maps, in particular in view of advocacy with the UN Peace-Keeping Mission on priority protection areas; -Alert and consult with nuclear PC members in case of emergency and assist in organising joint evaluation protection missions; -Assist in the research of data and analysis in support to the Protection Cluster advocacy initiatives, organize advocacy for a with relevant target groups as deemed appropriate; -Coordinate the promotion of international refugee law principles and standards and also IDP legislation or policies ensuring that all sectors and clusters fulfill their responsibilities mainstreaming protection; -Refer PC recommendations to members and UN Agencies/NGOs concerned and ensure/follow-up their implementation; -Coordinate the development of Protection strategies in context of Pooled Fund process, ensure timely information of PC members of applicable rules and procedures, ensure that submissions are timely received and ensure review of submission as per Pooled Fund procedure; -Ensure that the perspectives, capacities, needs and resources of the persons of concerns are reflected in the protection strategy, planning processes and operations plan addressing the specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, minority groups such as sexual minorities and persons living with HIV/AIDS; -Ensure legal assistance is accessible to persons of concern; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documents to persons of concern (civil documentation, in particular birth certificates); -Maintain protection presence through regular field missions and reports, making direct contact with persons of concern, host communities, local authorities and partners. Contribute to ensuring that the response of the Protection Cluster is grounded in an AGD-compliant strategy which covers all assessed and prioritized protection needs of the affected populations; -Support the follow-up of all matters linked to resource mobilisation, including the Humanitarian Action Plan; -Design, plan and deliver training in coordination with order actors for target audience as per PC recommendations, in particular with regard to protection mainstreaming, age & gender issues, Protection Monitoring and advocacy, follow-up the impact of training in accordance with indicators; -Elaborate essential documents for the Cluster, as well as preparatory documents, draft agenda and convene Protection Cluster meetings, and draft meeting minutes.