“Rarely consulted, frequently overlooked and often not fully involved in decision-making. The talents, energy and potential of refugee youth remain largely untapped. Refugee youth want the same things that young people everywhere want: Prospects, education, employment and inclusion. They want to get involved and be part of the solution.”
(GRYC Final Report)
A report by Barbara Noske and Sabin Müller
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) organized the Global Refugee Youth Consultations (GRYC) to talk not only about but also with young refugees. The aim of the GRYC was to gather information on the situation of young refugees worldwide and to use this to raise awareness among stakeholders in order to improve the living conditions of young refugees. 1183 young refugees from 35 countries took part in the consultations in 21 countries. They took place between October 2015 and May 2016. In 10 countries, the consultations were conducted by UNHCR and WRC themselves. In 11 countries, including Switzerland, local NGOs took over the implementation.
Ten key challenges defined
Even though the consultations were conducted in countries as diverse as Switzerland, Chad, Kenya, Morocco and Australia, the GRYC Final Report identified ten key challenges faced by young refugees:
- Lack of opportunities to participate and have a say
- Complicated and lengthy residence procedures
- Lack of safety and freedom of movement
- Gender-based discrimination, exploitation and violence
- Special protection needs of unaccompanied minors
- Difficult access to education and training
- Severely restricted access to the labor market
- Difficult access to healthcare, including mental health care, targeted at adolescents
- Lack of information about the asylum procedure, the rights of refugees and available services
- Discrimination, racism and “culture shock”
The GRYC Final Report was presented on 20.09.2016 in Geneva.
In cooperation with terre des hommes schweiz
The consultation in Switzerland was carried out jointly by the Swiss Foundation of the International Social Service and terre des hommes schweiz. In cooperation with the KUMA association, they held a consultation in Basel-Land. 17 young migrants from 6 countries came together for a one-day workshop. They discussed their access to language courses and education, the asylum procedure, their housing situation and their future prospects in particular detail. They drew up proposals on how decision-makers can support them. At the same time, they looked for ways to positively influence their current situation themselves. The results, supplemented by the findings of the Speak Out! MNA Charter, were summarized in a national report.
Youth representative for Switzerland at the UNHCR
In June 2016, the representatives of the national consultations met for the global consultation in Geneva. A suitable representative from Switzerland also took part and presented the results of the Swiss consultation. The representatives presented and discussed the most important findings with stakeholders and representatives of NGOs from all over the world at the annual UNHCR NGO Consultation. Based on the 21 national consultations and the results of the global consultation, the GRYC Final Report summarizes the most important findings.
