Organisational Context
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is an international non-governmental organisation with a mission to accompany, serve, and advocate for the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced people. The organisation was founded in November 1980 and has a presence in over 50 countries. JRS undertakes services at national and regional levels with the support and guidance of an international office in Rome. The style of JRS service is human and spiritual, working in situations of greatest need, seeking the long-term wellbeing of refugees and displaced persons, while not neglecting their immediate or urgent needs. JRS offers opportunities to a wide variety of staff, local and international, while maintaining a realistic and localised scheme of salary/stipend, insurance, etc.
Background and Needs
With more than 829,925 registered refugees, Ethiopia remains the largest refugee hosting country on the African continent. The Government of Ethiopia continues to provide access to asylum, and UNHCR and other humanitarian agencies are allowed to implement mandate related activities. The government of Ethiopia however maintains its reservations to the 1951 Convention regarding the right to work and freedom of movement. Ethiopia adopted its Refugee Proclamation in 2004, which is the main national legislation governing refugee issues. Refugees continue to arrive mostly from South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and Yemen. Most refugees are granted refugee status prima facie. The majority of the refugees are accommodated camps, while only a smaller percentage of the refugee population is permitted to reside in urban areas.
Socio economically, Ethiopia is severely impacted by the El Nino effects and experienced one of the worst droughts in decades in 2015/2016. It is estimated that some 83% of refugees are located in drought affected areas with approximately 50% of persons of concern hosted in the most critically affected areas. While rains resumed in 2016, the loss of livestock and production assets will continue to impact the country. The general security is considered stable; and although violent protests in parts of the country effect road travel, areas hosting refugees are generally not directly impacted.
In urban Addis Ababa, none of UNHCRs partners are currently implementing a Child Protection programme due to limited resources. This constitutes a big gap considering that 35.7% of refugees in Addis Ababa are children. A total of 767 children in Addis Ababa have been identified as unaccompanied and separated. They do have specific protection and assistance needs which remain unmet. Due to the fragile protection environment in an urban context like Addis Ababa, unaccompanied children are at particularly high risk of violence, abuse and sexual exploitation. Unaccompanied adolescents and youth are knowingly most prone to irregular onward movement which exposes them to risk of human trafficking and physical harm. Best Interest Assessments with Eritrean unaccompanied children have shown that many children are distressed about their situation and uncertain future.
Target Population
The programme targets refugee children and youth who are living in Addis Ababa. Of the total urban refugee population of 18’952 36% are children age 0-18 (6833) and 9.3% youth age 15 – 24 (1757)[1]. UNHCR is aware of 767 unaccompanied and separated refugee children (UASC) living in Addis Ababa. The actual number may be considerably higher as many refugees in urban areas have moved without permission from camps and are not registered by UNHCR or ARRA. Refugee children in Addis Ababa are mostly from Eritrea, followed by Somalia, Yemen, South Sudan and Sudan.
Activity Overview
JRS, in partnership with UNHCR, plans to implement a comprehensive Child Protection programme for urban refugee children and youth. The services provided to the refugee children will include:
Key Responsibilities
Reports to: Country Director
Duration: 3 Months
Qualifications and Experience:
Education
Experience
Experience in training;
Language
Technical Skills
Core values and ethics