UNHCR Protection Manual

UNHCR is pleased to announce the launch of its online Protection Manual; UNHCR’s repository of protection policy and guidance documents.

The Protection Manual is updated whenever a new protection policy or guidance document is published and can thus be relied upon to represent the current state of UNHCR protection policy / guidance. This new tool is accessible directly from the Refword home screen (www.refworld.org, top right of the screen) and from the UNHCR website (www.unhcr.org, click “UNHCR Protection Manual” under “resources”), or directly atwww.refworld.org/protectionmanual.html.

UNHCR guidance and policy documents are organized by theme/subject, as reflected in the Protection Manual’s Table of Contents. Subjects include legal topics (reflecting, for example, UNHCR guidance on the different elements of the refugee definition) and operational protection guidance (for example, on ‘asylum-seekers at sea’, or ‘age, gender and diversity’).

Under each heading, documents are arranged in reverse chronological order; with each document individually accessible through a hyperlink. Documents from non-UNHCR sources are generally not included, unless they provide guidance on protection-related topics that also applies to or has specifically been endorsed by UNHCR (such as interagency guidance). At the bottom of several of the subject headings, relevant related sources are listed, containing older guidance and documents which serve as background reading.

The Protection Manual contains at present over 1,000 guidance and policy documents. We expect it to be a helpful tool for, amongst others, government officials responsible for asylum decision-making, lawyers, legal aid providers, academics and students, and operational agencies working with refugees or IDPs.

Any questions or remarks relating to the Protection Manual or user experiences, both positive and negative, can be sent to . We appreciate your feedback!

We hope the Protection Manual will be useful to you in your work.