1) The document summarizes a 2013 follow-up child protection mission in Cairo conducted by RefugePoint to evaluate the impact of their 2012 mission and support UNHCR's efforts to advance child protection. 2) In the 2013 mission, RefugePoint conducted follow-up interviews with 104 children previously interviewed in 2012 to assess their situation and progress made. They also provided new referrals and recommendations. 3) The results showed that most referrals from 2012 were addressed, with many children accessing education and other services on their own initiative. However, some referrals such as family tracing were not fully acted upon due to limited resources and diffuse accountability among service providers.

1. 2013 RefugePoint Child Protection
Mission in Cairo
devon cone
SPECIAL REPORT

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List of Acronyms
AMERA Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance
BIA Best Interest Assessment
BID Best Interest Determination
CBO Community Based Organisation
CRS Catholic Relief Services
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
OAU Organisation of African Unity
PSTIC Psycho-Social Training Institute in Cairo
RLAP Refugee Legal Aid Project
RSD Refugee Status Determination
SC Separated Child
SGBV Sexual and Gender Based Violence
SOPs Standard Operating Procedures
UAM Unaccompanied Minor
UASC Unaccompanied and Separated Children
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

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Background of Project
In 2012, UNHCR released “A Framework for the
Protection of Children”, which provided new
guidelines aimed at improving the protection
of young refugees. Egypt was chosen as a pilot
country for implementing these guidelines.
At the invitation of UNHCR Regional Office Cairo
(UNHCR Cairo), in order to assist UNHCR and its
partners in this process, RefugePoint deployed a
privately funded child protection mission to Cairo from
April to September 2012.
The three-person team conducted Best Interest
Assessments (BIAs) for over a hundred vulnerable
minors and used this casework as an opportunity to
evaluate existing child protection Standard Operating
Procedures (SOPs) in Cairo.
Because this was a relatively new model for addressing
gaps in child protection, in March of 2013 RefugePoint
redeployed one of its original team members to Cairo
to evaluate the impact of the 2012 mission and to
continue to support UNHCR’s efforts to advance child
protection in Cairo.
Follow-Up Child Protection Mission Objectives
In cooperation with the UNHCR Child Protection
Officer and the AMERA (Africa and Middle East
Refugee Assistance) Unaccompanied Children and
Youth (UCY) Team Leader, conduct child protection
workshops for UNHCR staff, including developing a
curriculum and training materials;
Conduct follow-up BIAs for children interviewed
during the 2012 RefugePoint BIA project to assess
progress made in the intervening period, making
additional referrals for services as necessary;
Assess the impact of the previous mission, both
in terms of the status of the children affected and
also the implementation of local SOPs, and produce
a brief follow-up report on UASC in Cairo, with
recommendations and suggestions for next steps.
Child Protection Workshops
At the request of UNHCR, the RefugePoint Child
Protection Specialist, the UNHCR Child Protection
Officer and the AMERA UCY Team Leader worked
together to plan and host 4 one-day child protection
workshops for UNHCR staff in April and May 2013,
including developing a curriculum and new materials
for the trainings. By the end of each workshop, the
facilitators expected the participants:
To have developed a good understanding of children’s
rights and the legal frameworks they are derived from;

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To be able to incorporate children’s rights into their
daily work;
To understand child protection in the context of the
work of UNHCR Cairo;
To understand how children’s rights practically
translate into child protection.
Significantly, a diversity of UNHCR staff participated
in the workshops, including staff of varying experience
levels and from a wide range of units (see table above).
For many staff, the child protection training was the
first opportunity for them to learn about UNHCR’s
global framework for child protection, how the UNHCR
Cairo operation implements this framework, and how
to address the challenges and complications they face
in their daily work relating to child protection.
The fact that the trainings included refugee
interpreters, who are the direct communications link
between staff and persons of concern, was especially
valuable, particularly in sessions covering interview
techniques. The workshop highlighted that both
the interviewer and interpreter need to utilize child
friendly interview techniques together in order to
communicate effectively and create an environment
that is comfortable for the child.
The support of the UNHCR Cairo office in encouraging
child rights/protection trainings demonstrates
the prioritization of child protection within the
operation. According to feedback forms filled out by
each workshop participant, staff members found the
information useful and relevant, and reported that
much of the training material was new to them. They
additionally commented that they greatly appreciated
discussing case studies and would like more in depth
training on Best Interest Assessments (BIAs), Best
Interest Determinations (BIDs) and UNHCR Cairo
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for UASC.
Based on the interest and success of the workshops,
UNHCR Cairo is also discussing a two-day advanced
workshop for UNHCR staff and additional trainings for
staff of partner organizations.
The materials from the training are now included in
RefugePoint’s reference materials and are being shared
directly with other RefugePoint staff participating in
child protection missions. They will in turn continue
to utilize these materials on missions to other UNHCR
offices, disseminating the curriculum more widely.
Follow-up BIAs
During the 2012 RefugePoint child protection mission,
RefugePoint consistently stressed the use of BIAs as a
case management tool. Once an interview is conducted
and a BIA is completed, it is important to engage in
consistent follow-up to ensure that the recommended
actions are taken. Even if no immediate action needs
to be taken, it is good practice to meet with the minors
at regular intervals (e.g. every 6 months) to update
the BIA and address any new needs that might have
emerged.
In order to assess the progress of children interviewed
in 2012 and the impact of the prior BIA process, the
RefugePoint Child Protection Specialist attempted
to conduct follow-up BIAs with all 135 children the
RefugePoint team interviewed in 2012. Some of the
children were no longer in Cairo or were otherwise
unreachable, therefore, the Child Protection Specialist
was able to re-interview 104 of the original 135.
1. Each unit within UNHCR Cairo is of varying size; therefore the percentages are not reflective of participation from within the unit. For example, the resettlement unit has
11 staff members, 9 of which attending the training. The Registration and RSD units employ the most staff members, therefore, it is expected that they would produce the
highest number of attendees.

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The tables below provide a breakdown by age, gender,
nationality, and legal status of the minors interviewed
during the 2013 follow-up mission.
* The case in the “Other” category refers to a child who was
considered a UAM during the 2012 interview, but reunited with his
mother prior to the 2013 interview.
Interview Location
Having learned from the 2012 mission that it can be
difficult for minors to travel to UNHCR’s office in Cairo
and equally time consuming for staff to visit multiple
minors per day in their homes, the RefugePoint Child
Protection Specialist worked four days a week in the
office of the implementing partner Caritas, which is
centrally located. All unaccompanied and separated
children in Cairo receive financial assistance through
Caritas, so it is a space they know, are comfortable with,
and visit regularly. The RefugePoint Child Protection
Specialist made efforts to meet with the children on the
same day that they had appointments with Caritas staff
members. Thus, conducting interviews there allowed
for efficient interviewing and a smoother hand-off
for follow-up by Caritas. Many issues were able to be
handled on the spot, due to the shared location of the
BIA interviewer and this key service provider.
Interview Content
104 interviews conducted were with young people
whom RefugePoint staff had previously interviewed
in 2012 (44 of whom had aged out and were no
longer technically UASC). Since the initial BIAs were
available, in most cases the follow-up interviews were
abbreviated versions of a full BIA interview.
The main objectives of the follow-up interviews were
to:
1) Provide another face-to-face contact and counseling
opportunity with the child;
2) Assess the current situation of the child;
3) Examine what had changed in the child’s situation
since the time of the initial BIA interview;
4) Determine whether the initial BIA process and
referrals were effective;
5) Make new referrals based on any new information.
In order to document the information from the
interviews in a consistent format, the RefugePoint
Child Protection Specialist adapted the standard BIA
form for purposes of the shorter follow-up interviews.
Assessment of 2012 Mission
2012 Referrals – overview
During the 2012 mission, RefugePoint made 257
referrals to various UNHCR units and partner agencies.
During the follow-up interviews, the RefugePoint Child
Protection Specialist asked the children about their
interaction with other organizations, whether they had
been contacted, whether they had sought out services
themselves or whether they had neither received nor
sought any additional services since the last interview.
The follow-up interviews revealed that between
September 2012 and April 2013, 203 (or 79%) of the
257 referrals made by the RefugePoint child protection
team in 2012 were addressed. UNHCR and partner
organizations followed up directly on some of these
referrals, however, a majority of the services were
accessed proactively by the young people themselves.
Please see below for more a detailed breakdown of
referral follow-up.

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There seem to be two explanations for the small
percentage of referrals that were not acted upon:
there are limited resources and programs to address
the needs of UASC;
and, the network of providers caring for UASC is
fairly diffuse and it is difficult to establish clear
accountability for follow-up.
2013 Referrals – overview
During the 2013 mission, the RefugePoint Child
Protection Specialist made 97 new referrals for the
same children who had been interviewed in 2012. Of
the 97 total referrals made in 2013, the vast majority
were for family tracing (see graph below). It is also
important to note that 54 of the referrals were
repeating the referrals from 2012 that had yet to be
addressed.
Education
In 2012, the majority of the referrals were made
for education. Since that time, most of the children
who were not in school have begun to access some
form of education. As is often the case in situations
of displacement, many of the children had missed
years of school and/or did not speak the host country
language, and therefore found it difficult to enroll in
formal schooling. As a result, it is important to note
that many of the children who are now accessing
education in 2013 are taking part in informal language
classes or vocational training rather than formal
primary or secondary school. Still, this is a significant
improvement, since in 2012 most had not yet accessed
even informal education opportunities. In cases where
UASC have enrolled in formal education, UNHCR’s
implementing partner Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
has provided financial support for tuition fees.
Additionally, although the RefugePoint team made
referrals for education in 2012, the children who have
begun to access education since that time have all done
so as a result of their own initiative rather than being
contacted by any organization. Rather, the children
noted that it was the information provided to them
during the BIA interview that was most helpful in
accessing educational opportunities, together with
information provided by friends and community
members.
AMERA
In 2012, the RefugePoint team made 61 referrals
for services to the NGO AMERA through the
Unaccompanied Children and Youth team and the
Legal Aid team. AMERA followed up on each one of
these cases and provided the requested assistance.
They also reported back to RefugePoint and provided
information on the status of each case as part of their
own monitoring and evaluation process. Working
together with an operational partner such as AMERA
was crucial in the success of the child protection
mission and provided an example of UNHCR and NGOs
collaborating together in a highly effective manner.
Psycho-Social Training Institute of
Cairo (PSTIC)
In 2012, the RefugePoint team referred 8 children to
PSTIC for intensive case management, counseling
and/or assistance in locating suitable housing. By the
time of this follow-up mission, PSTIC had worked on
some of these cases by assigning a psychosocial worker
from the refugee community to meet with the child.
Final outcomes from this case management were not
yet clear at the writing of this report. As one of the
greatest challenges for UASC often relates to securing
safe and suitable housing, PSTIC’s contribution in this
area, which relies on a community network they have
developed over the years, can be an important tool for
assisting UASC.

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Durable Solutions
In 2012, the RefugePoint team referred 8 cases
for resettlement consideration because each of
these children was highly vulnerable and in need of
immediate protection that could not be secured locally.
The UNHCR Resettlement Unit followed-up on five of
these cases and were in the process of addressing the
other three. Because a BIA had already been completed,
all of the cases which were eligible were submitted for
resettlement in an expedient manner. During the 2013
follow-up mission, there were also two new referrals to
the UNHCR Resettlement Unit because in these cases,
the children had become significantly more vulnerable
in the course of the year.
Refugee Status Determination
(RSD)
Following SOPs which require fast tracking UASC,
UNHCR Cairo has scheduled RSD interviews for many
of the UASC interviewed in 2012 who had previously
not had RSD interviews or who had missed their initial
appointments. Even in the case of a child having his/
her RSD appointment expedited, the waiting time
is still usually a few months. In situations of highly
vulnerable cases, RefugePoint staff worked with the
RSD team to ensure RSD appointments be scheduled as
quickly as possible.
Financial Assistance
In 2012, the RefugePoint team referred 17 children to
Caritas for financial assistance, all through the UNHCR
focal point for minors. Each of these children has since
been evaluated and enrolled in the financial assistance
program. In 2013, the Child Protection Specialist
referred three new cases for financial assistance
because in the course of the year their assistance had
been erroneously discontinued.
Medical Assistance
19 of the 20 cases that the RefugePoint referred for
medical assistance in 2012 have since received some
form of medical care. However, most of the children
also reported being unsatisfied with the quality of the
medical assistance and say they still suffer from the
same problems as previously highlighted. They also
reported to have difficulties locating or traveling to
the various health care professionals that they were
referred to, indicating a need for more intensive
medical case management.
Tracing
The RefugePoint team referred 34 children for family
tracing services in 2012. Four children approached the
International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC)
office on their own in order to initiate tracing, however
the other young people have yet to do so and ICRC is
not in the practice of contacting the minors directly.
Many of the children report that they do not have
enough money to travel to the office and they are not
confident that the process of tracing will yield any
results.
General Observations
Most of the children that the RefugePoint Child
Protection Specialist interviewed in 2013 were
appreciative to meet with a staff member again.
Many of the children expressed anxiety that UNHCR
had forgotten about them after the initial interview,
however, the follow-up interviews alleviated this
concern. The mere act of meeting with the children
appears to have been beneficial. The interviews have
helped the children to develop a positive relationship
with UNHCR and other organizations and have
provided them with a setting in which they can share
their fears/concerns/desires with no fear of penalties.
The interviews have also enabled staff to counsel the
children, help them feel less isolated and provide them
with information about local resources and processes
that have empowered them to improve their own lives.
In many instances, this meeting with RefugePoint staff
seems to be the first contact the UASC have had with
trusted adults since arriving in Egypt.
Many of the children reported being more comfortable
living in Cairo than the first time they were
interviewed. Although a few of the children developed
new problems since the time of the initial interviews
in 2012, many of the children reported to have learned
how to adapt to life in their host country despite the

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difficulties. This does not mean however, that they are
content or are without significant problems, but it does
indicate that they are often resilient and flexible.
Together with an increased capability in navigating the
city, many of them expressed additional frustration
they were not “progressing” in their lives. Many
young Somali males, for example, expected to access
quality education and work opportunities quickly
after arriving in Cairo. Instead, they reported that
they are barely able to survive on the limited financial
assistance they receive and they see few if any
prospects for their future.
Changes Implemented
UNHCR was responsive to the recommendations made
by RefugePoint in 2012. In particular, UNHCR has:
Simplified the registration process by expediting
registration appointments for UASC and conducting
all registration activities in one visit to the UNHCR
office;
Modified the BIA form and related documentation to
be more efficient;
Ensured accurate registration data of UASC and
children-at-risk and more effective use of ProGres to
record specific needs;
Assigned a UNHCR focal point for UASC to conduct
registration, BIA interviews and make referrals;
Supported child protection workshops and
encouraged all staff to be trained in child protection;
Involved staff in meetings, organizations and working
groups of national child protection mechanisms and
organizations;
Updated the SOPs for UASC.
Further recommendations
UNHCR and partner organizations can continue to
improve their services to UASC by:
Creating a consistent referral form to be used
between partner organizations;
Providing child friendly information at all interviews,
both the initial BIA interview and all follow-up
interviews;
Prioritizing the mapping of services and, once created,
keeping the “map” current, so that all staff are aware
of the options that exist for referring children to
needed services;
Coordinating joint training sessions so that UNHCR
and NGO can staff can participate together;
Clarifying the process for assistance when staff
identify a child at-risk (SOPs).
Conclusions
Improvements in the handling of UASC cases in Cairo
were evident between the time of RefugePoint’s first
mission in 2012 to the time of this follow-up in 2013.
The improvements are attributable to UNHCR’s and
other partners’ commitment to this issue and, in
some part, to the contributions of the RefugePoint
mission and trainings. The SOPs are more clearly
defined and better understood by the relevant partners.
Representatives of most units within UNHCR Cairo
have now been trained on the basics of child protection
and incorporating child protection principles into
their work. The backlog of cases pending BIAs has been
greatly reduced, freeing the partners to focus on sound
procedures to follow with new cases. The majority of
the UASC interviewed during the first mission are in
better circumstances than they were prior to the BIA
interview, which appears to indicate the value and
effectiveness of the BIA process and the referrals and
case management that it sets in motion.
One conclusion RefugePoint staff drew from these
missions is that conducting a BIA can in and of itself
be a protective intervention. Meeting with UASC and
children at-risk provides an opportunity to counsel
them, provide them with information that empowers
them, and also obtain information that can be useful
to better understand the population and its needs
generally, which is important in order to effectively
plan programs and engage in advocacy.
The model employed by RefugePoint and UNHCR in

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Cairo during 2012 and 2013 is one that might serve
other locations well. The advantages of having a
mission of visiting Child Protection Specialists includes
not only surge capacity for addressing back-logs of
cases awaiting BIA/BID interviews, but also: a fresh,
external perspective on local systems and how they
might be strengthened to prevent back-logs or gaps
forming in the future; gaining a better understanding
of the UASC population and its needs; targeted
troubleshooting and cross-pollination of best practices
from the region; as well as opportunities for enhancing
local expertise through in-depth trainings. The fact
that RefugePoint was able to conduct a return, follow-
up mission to Cairo provided additional value in that
we were able to assess what was effectively addressed
through the first mission and subsequently by the local
partners, and where additional work was needed.
In sum, the child protection missions appear to
be an effective approach to supporting UNHCR
in implementing the UNHCR Policy Framework
for the Protection of Children and improving the
circumstances of individual UASC.
Acknowledgements
This report was prepared by Devon Cone, RefugePoint
Child Protection Specialist, who conducted the 2013
follow-up mission. The original 2012 mission team
consisted of Mei Lian Tjia (team leader), Devon Cone,
and Joanne Mugambi. The 2012 mission was funded
by RefugePoint and the 2013 mission was funded by
UNHCR with a grant from the Norwegian Government.
The report was edited by Amy Slaughter and Martin
Anderson of RefugePoint.
Special thanks go to the UNHCR Cairo office, which
invited these missions and provided the needed
logistical support and technical input. Particular
thanks to the UNHCR Deputy Regional Representative
Elizabeth Tan, the UNHCR community services
unit, and all other staff at UNHCR who work in close
collaboration with RefugePoint and provided expert
guidance. We also thank the interpreters from both
UNHCR and other organizations without whom the
interviews would not have been possible.
Additional thanks to all of the partner organizations
working with UNHCR on behalf of young refugees and
asylum seekers in Cairo. Most specifically, AMERA,
PSTIC and Caritas provided valuable support and
assistance.
Finally, we are grateful to the young refugee and
asylum seekers in Cairo as well as their caregivers
and community members who shared their time,
perspectives and thoughts with RefugePoint staff.

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