Issues Facing Refugees, IDPs, and Forced Migration

Although it is difficult to arrive at exact numbers, UNICEF posits that nearly half of all refugees are children.  A significant proportion of refugees, IDPs, and forced migrants are young people, many of whom are especially vulnerable to security risks including gendered violence in camps, transitional housing, and unfamiliar environments.  A PYD lens on programming for displaced youth would focus on engaging young people as partners, creating an environment for their full participation, and shifting the focus from "victim" and/or "perpetrator" to "partner for peace."  

Adolescent Girls in Disaster & Conflict

Millions of adolescent girls are in need of humanitarian assistance. A crisis heightens their vulnerability to gender-based violence, unwanted pregnancy, HIV infection, maternal death and disability, early and forced marriage, rape, trafficking, and sexual exploitation and abuse. In emergencies, adolescent girls need tailored programming to increase their access to reproductive health services, including family planning, and to protect them from gender-based violence.  From safe spaces to mobile clinics to youth participation, UNFPA uses different approaches to reach displaced, uprooted and crisis-affected adolescent girls at a critical time in their young lives. This publication features new case studies on reaching adolescent girls in humanitarian situations from programmes in Malawi, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Somalia.

Young People in the Global Compact on Refugees: How the Global Compact on Refugees can protect young refugees and prove their potential

With the development of the Global Compact on Refugees, the international community has an important opportunity to safeguard young refugees and partner more effectively with them to improve their lives. Based on our extensive experience working with young people in crisis around the world, Mercy Corps sets out below a number of key practices to protect young refugees and prove their potential. A comprehensive refugee response should promote young refugees’ well-being, provide them with flexible education opportunities, help them access safe and fair employment, and give them a voice in their communities. Finally, young refugees should be engaged as partners in designing and implementing this response.