UN Youth Volunteer in Protection

UNHCR’s operations in Moldova are part of the Multi-Country Office in Budapest. We follow and comment on developments in policy, legislation, and the daily practice of refugee protection. We are working with the Moldovan government and partner organizations. We are committed to creating public support for asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons.

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation in February 2022, over 1.1 million people have entered the Republic of Moldova from Ukraine, mostly women, children, and older persons. While most have moved onwards to the EU, over 130,000 refugees have chosen to remain in Moldova, nearly half of whom are children.

Currently and based on the multi-year strategy covering 2024-2026, main operational priorities of the office include interventions for protecting people fleeing the Ukraine conflict, as well as for asylum seekers of other nationalities and stateless individuals, protection monitoring and strengthening of protection services particularly for CP/GBV and groups with specific needs, supporting authorities in providing accommodation and monitoring conditions and protection needs of refugees, support for inclusion and access to education and health, as well as consistent support (technical and expertise) to the Government of Moldova to manage the response. The strategy is focused on an ongoing transition from emergency response to stabilization, integration of the refugee response to national governmental programs, and bolstering inclusion of displaced persons in national social protection and other key systems.

Within the Protection team, key priorities include support supporting the government with establishing a post-Temporary Protection legal regime, supporting the government’s EU accession efforts, particularly in the areas of asylum and alignment of relevant legislation with EU and international standards, Community Based Protection activities, protection monitoring, support to children at risk and survivors of GBV, and the educational inclusion of refugee children in Moldova’s school system.

Under the direct supervision of the Protection Officer, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

· Through relationships with forcibly displaced and stateless people, authorities and a network of partners stay abreast of political, social, economic, and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment and provide advice to protection team members;
· Support efforts to ensure that the perspectives, capacities, needs, and resources of forcibly displaced and stateless people 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;
· Support the promotion of international refugee law principles and standards, and support the mainstreaming of protection;
· Support the implementation and monitoring of programmes, ensuring that identified protection needs, including an Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) approach, are adequately addressed;
· Assist in the coordinated implementation and oversight of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities;
· Support with consultative processes with government counterparts at local levels, partners, and forcibly displaced and stateless people to develop and implement integrated strategies that address the key protection priorities, including, for example, child protection, education, and GBV, and solutions approaches;
· Support efforts to promote confidence-building and conflict resolution among populations of concern, authorities, and host communities;
· Support the maintenance of protection presence through regular field missions, monitoring missions, and reports, making direct contact with forcibly displaced and stateless persons, host communities, local authorities, and partners;
· Contribute to the Protection team's information management component which: provides disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems; researches, collects, and disseminates relevant protection information and good practices to enhance protection delivery and provide technical advice if necessary;
· Support efforts to ensure participatory, community-based protection and AGD approaches are included in strategies and plans in the country operation;
· Support efforts to develop structures that enhance the participation and protection of forcibly displaced and stateless people;
· Support case management activities as needed, including potentially in the fields of child protection, GBV, and general protection;
· Support the monitoring of protection partners;
· Support the coordination of protection activities;
· Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignments and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and taking an active part in UNV activities (for instance, in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
• Provide annual and end-of-assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results, and opportunities;
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
• Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.