EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE
HIGH COMMISSIONER’S PROGRAM
Informal Consultative Meeting
Follow-up to the High Level Segment on Solidarity and Burden-Sharing with Countries
Hosting Syrian Refugees
21 February 2014
Solidarity (delivered by ICVA)
 We call on the international community to fulfill the key priority areas articulated by the Executive Committee Member States in their final statement issued at last October’s High Level Segment, including: 1) direct aid to governments; 2) support for refugee communities and their hosts; 3) enhanced resettlement and reunification opportunities; and 4) assistance by development actors to host communities.
 We commend the generosity of donors to date, but worry that these significant contributions have not kept pace with the growing financial requirements of all the key contributors to the response: from host
countries to development actors, from the UN to NGOs. Of the USD 4.26 billion requested to sustain the RRP, 86.9% (or 3.7 billion) is yet to be provided.
 While third country resettlement of Syrian refugees can be appropriate, we are concerned that it is too often cutting into existing resettlement quotas, reducing slots available for other crises. We ask resettlement countries to increase their quotas and explore creative alternatives, like Germany’s HAP and Switzerland’s visa facilitation, and support UNHCR’s recommendations for additional alternatives.
 Finally, we echo the ROK’s support for a Conclusion on education, which is relevant not only for the Syrian crisis but also for UNHCR’s global strategy to promote protection and solutions through education.
Protection (delivered by NRC)
 We commend the generosity of the Syria’s neighbours for providing asylum to millions of Syrian’s fleeing conflict, persecution and insecurity. Despite the immense burden being borne by these countries, we urge them to ensure that freedom of movement is maintained without barriers to access, including for
Palestinians and other groups fleeing Syria.

 Plainly, the burden of sheltering millions of Syrians is immense and growing by the day. We reiterate the calls of others today for the international community to do more to shoulder its share of the burden, including through increasing the numbers of Syrians being granted asylum and resettlement outside the region.
 We stress the need for all actors to respect the imperative of humanitarian actors to deliver assistance based on need, regardless of status and origin –
in keeping with the humanitarian principles. Access to safe shelter solutions are a particular area of urgent need, especially as the savings of many refugees, which they have used to pay for temporary rental housing, are depleted.
Grounded in refugee rights, clear shelter plans from the international community and governments are urgently required.
 We propose that the region could benefit from clear and appropriate administrative procedures related to visas and documentation. These should provide for the rights of all refugees to stay in countries and granted asylum until conditions improve; include waivers on visas or related fees; and accept alternative documentation as proof of legal stay (for example, UNHCR registration).
Coordination and Aligning the Response (delivered by World Vision)
 We affirm the call for immediate and sustained action, both humanitarian and development. Given the protracted nature of the crisis, humanitarian assistance is by no means sufficient. However, we ask that to humanitarian funding is not diminished before new systems are performing.
 While we recognize the immense amount of work that has gone into developing the critical, strategic frameworks, including the NRPs, the
Comprehensive Regional Strategy, the SHARP, RRP6 and other multisectoral needs assessments, we request that all actors work to improve coordination and streamline efforts to ensure complementarity and avoid duplication.
 We encourage improved, systematic information sharing between all operational humanitarian actors to ensure the greatest effectiveness and efficiency of the refugee response.
 We and other INGOs appreciate the increased opportunity to participate in key decision-making fora and seek consistent, ongoing engagement.
Out-of-Camp and Host Communities (delivered by CARE)
 We would welcome an update on the implementation of the recommendations
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made during the 2013 Real Time Evaluation of the Syrian Refugee Response, especially those related to outreach to out-of-camp refugees.
 We appeal to donors and the UN to ensure out-of-camp refugees are
adequately included in humanitarian aid programs.
 We recognize the pressure placed on local authorities, host communities
and public services by the large-scale refugee influx. To help ensure a sustainable longer-term response, we encourage the donor community to continue to invest funding and direct support for host governments’ public sectors, especially health and education, but also housing and water systems.
This may involve expanding and better equipping existing infrastructure, especially education and medical facilities, and an urgent scaling up of services serving both refugees and their host communities. It is important that we avoid the creation of parallel structures serving refugees only, as this cannot be sustained over time. We encourage more transparency in the use of such funds and needs assessment analyses (like the number of refugees effectively accessing public health services).
 Refugees have exhausted their traditional coping mechanisms, such as depleting their savings and selling assets both outside and inside Syria. Negative coping mechanisms are therefore on the rise, with incidents of child labour and survival sex increasingly reported. We strongly encourage host communities in the region to consider putting in place policies that would enable refugees to pursue livelihoods legally with the view to promoting self-reliance of these
communities. Ensuring that refugees continue to develop skills, maintain livelihoods and have access to education opportunities will be fundamental to the sustainability of return.
 To ensure that all those in need are adequately assisted, we strongly recommend capacity building of local actors and reinforcing referral mechanisms and specialized referral pathways. The successful application of the case management approach across sectors is crucial to maximizing the impact of different humanitarian actors, government initiatives, social opportunities and network support.
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