Deadline: 24-Jul-2026
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is seeking applications from organisations to support refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons and other forcibly displaced people across the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. The programme focuses on protection systems, legal assistance, documentation, humanitarian assistance, livelihoods, education, socio-economic inclusion and durable solutions.
The Call for Expression of Interest supports partnerships that improve access to rights, services and protection-sensitive national responses. Eligible organisations must demonstrate relevant capacity, operational commitment and the ability to deliver protection and assistance activities in the covered countries and territories.
Programme Overview
The UNHCR Call for Expression of Interest invites organisations to support protection, assistance and durable solutions for forcibly displaced and stateless people in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.
The programme is implemented in coordination with UNHCR’s broader regional work through its Multi-Country Office in Panama.
It aims to strengthen protection systems, improve access to legal pathways and services, and support long-term inclusion for refugees, asylum seekers and other vulnerable displaced populations.
Main Objective
The main objective of the programme is to expand protection, assistance and durable solutions for displaced and stateless people across the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.
The programme aims to:
- Strengthen national protection systems
- Improve access to asylum and statelessness procedures
- Provide legal assistance and representation
- Support access to documentation
- Expand humanitarian assistance for vulnerable people
- Promote livelihoods and self-reliance
- Improve access to education and essential services
- Support socio-economic inclusion
- Build capacity of national and local actors
- Promote human rights protection
- Strengthen advocacy and legal reform efforts
Geographic Coverage
The initiative covers countries and territories across the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.
Eligible locations include:
- Aruba
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Curaçao
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Suriname
- Dominica
- Saint Lucia
- Montserrat
- Barbados
- Virgin Islands (UK)
- Guyana
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Grenada
- Anguilla
Applicants should demonstrate capacity to work in one or more of the covered locations.
Key Focus Areas
The programme focuses on protection, rights, inclusion and sustainable solutions.
Key focus areas include:
- Protection systems
- Legal assistance
- Access to justice
- Documentation support
- Humanitarian assistance
- Self-reliance
- Livelihoods
- Skills development
- Education access
- Socio-economic inclusion
- Essential services
- Legal pathways
- Asylum procedures
- Statelessness procedures
- Human rights protection
- Advocacy
- Capacity building
- Monitoring and evaluation
- National response strengthening
Target Groups
The programme supports people who need international protection or face displacement-related vulnerability.
Target groups include:
- Refugees
- Asylum seekers
- Stateless persons
- People at risk of statelessness
- Forcibly displaced people
- Vulnerable migrants requiring protection
- Displaced families
- People with urgent or heightened protection needs
Role of UNHCR in the Region
UNHCR’s Multi-Country Office in Panama supports protection work across Central America and the Caribbean.
This includes locations where UNHCR does not have a permanent in-country presence.
The initiative emphasizes cooperation with national authorities, civil society organisations and community-based actors to ensure displaced people can access rights, services and sustainable solutions.
What the Programme Supports
Selected partners may support a wide range of protection and assistance activities.
Supported activities may include:
- Legal counselling
- Legal representation
- Assistance with asylum procedures
- Support for statelessness procedures
- Documentation assistance
- Humanitarian support for vulnerable people
- Advocacy on protection and rights
- Capacity building for public institutions
- Awareness activities on fair asylum procedures
- Livelihoods support
- Skills development
- Education support
- Socio-economic inclusion activities
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Community outreach
- Protection-sensitive referrals
Strengthening Protection Systems
The programme aims to improve the systems that protect displaced and stateless people.
This may include support for:
- Fair asylum procedures
- Statelessness determination processes
- Legal documentation systems
- Protection-sensitive case management
- Referral pathways
- Access to justice
- Institutional capacity building
- Protection monitoring
- Human rights-based approaches
Strong protection systems help displaced people access rights, safety, services and long-term solutions.
Legal Assistance and Access to Justice
Selected partners may provide legal assistance to refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons.
Legal support may include:
- Legal counselling
- Case preparation
- Representation before authorities
- Support with asylum claims
- Support with documentation processes
- Assistance with human rights concerns
- Information on legal rights and procedures
- Referrals to specialised protection services
Legal assistance is essential for people who need protection but face barriers in understanding or accessing formal systems.
Documentation Support
Documentation is critical for access to services, freedom of movement and self-reliance.
Partners may support refugees and asylum seekers to obtain required documentation, including:
- Refugee cards
- Asylum seeker cards
- Identity-related documents
- Documents needed to access services
- Academic or civil documentation where relevant
Documentation support can help displaced people access education, livelihoods, healthcare, legal protection and other essential services.
Humanitarian Assistance
The programme may support humanitarian assistance for individuals requiring international protection.
This is especially relevant for people experiencing urgent or heightened vulnerabilities.
Humanitarian assistance may help address immediate needs while connecting individuals and families to longer-term protection and inclusion pathways.
Livelihoods and Self-Reliance
The initiative promotes durable solutions through livelihoods and socio-economic inclusion.
Partners may support activities that help displaced people become more self-reliant and economically included.
Livelihood activities may include:
- Skills training
- Employment support
- Income opportunities
- Job readiness support
- Inclusive labour market access
- Vocational education pathways
- Recognition of qualifications
- Support for small enterprise or income generation
- Engagement with private sector actors
Education Access
The programme supports access to education pathways for displaced families.
Partners may assist refugees, asylum seekers and displaced people with:
- Information on education systems
- Translation support
- Certification assistance
- Academic documentation support
- School access guidance
- Vocational education pathways
- Recognition of qualifications
Education support helps displaced people continue learning, improve future opportunities and participate more fully in host communities.
Advocacy and Legal Reform
The programme supports advocacy and engagement with national and regional actors.
Advocacy may focus on:
- Improving asylum procedures
- Strengthening statelessness systems
- Expanding lawful stay options
- Improving access to documentation
- Advancing protection-sensitive policies
- Promoting human rights standards
- Supporting legal reforms
- Strengthening national protection frameworks
Advocacy should be evidence-based, rights-focused and connected to practical improvements for displaced people.
Capacity Building for Institutions
Selected partners may help strengthen the capacity of institutions involved in protection and assistance.
Capacity building may target:
- Ministries
- Judicial authorities
- Border management agencies
- Law enforcement officials
- Local government actors
- Civil society organisations
- Community-based organisations
- Service providers
Training and technical support should improve understanding of refugee protection, statelessness, asylum procedures, documentation, human rights and referral systems.
Durable Solutions and Inclusion
Durable solutions are long-term pathways that allow displaced people to live with safety, dignity and stability.
The programme promotes durable solutions through:
- Legal pathways
- Lawful stay options
- Socio-economic inclusion
- Access to education
- Access to employment
- Access to essential services
- Recognition of rights
- Integration into national systems
- Partnerships with development and private sector actors
The goal is to move beyond short-term assistance and support sustainable outcomes.
Partnerships and Coordination
The programme encourages cooperation among different actors.
Relevant partners may include:
- National governments
- Civil society organisations
- Community-based organisations
- Development organisations
- Financial institutions
- Private sector actors
- Education providers
- Legal aid organisations
- Human rights organisations
- Local service providers
Strong coordination helps improve protection coverage, reduce duplication and strengthen national responses.
Who is Eligible?
The Call for Expression of Interest is open to organisations that can support protection, assistance and durable solutions in the eligible locations.
Eligible organisations may include:
- Civil society organisations
- Non-governmental organisations
- Community-based organisations
- Legal aid organisations
- Human rights organisations
- Service delivery organisations
- Organisations with protection, livelihoods, education or inclusion expertise
Applicants must demonstrate relevant capacity, operational commitment and alignment with UNHCR priorities.
Organisational Capacity Requirements
Applying organisations should be able to demonstrate:
- Experience working with displaced or vulnerable populations
- Capacity to deliver protection or assistance activities
- Knowledge of local legal and service systems
- Ability to work with national authorities and communities
- Strong safeguarding and ethical standards
- Monitoring and evaluation capacity
- Financial and administrative management capacity
- Ability to operate in eligible countries or territories
- Commitment to human rights and protection principles
Selection Considerations
Submission of an application does not automatically lead to a partnership agreement.
Selection will depend on:
- UNHCR priorities
- Operational requirements
- Availability of funding
- Organisational capacity
- Geographic relevance
- Technical expertise
- Ability to deliver results
- Alignment with protection and durable solutions objectives
Applicants should present clear, realistic and evidence-based proposals.
Expected Results
Selected partnerships are expected to strengthen protection and inclusion outcomes for displaced and stateless people.
Expected results may include:
- Improved access to asylum procedures
- Stronger statelessness response systems
- Increased access to documentation
- Expanded legal assistance
- Better access to justice
- Improved humanitarian support for vulnerable people
- Stronger livelihoods and self-reliance pathways
- Increased access to education
- Stronger national and regional protection systems
- Better capacity of government and service providers
- Improved monitoring and evaluation of protection needs
- Stronger advocacy for rights and legal reforms
Why This Programme Matters
Refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons and forcibly displaced people often face barriers to documentation, legal protection, education, livelihoods and essential services.
In many Caribbean locations, protection needs must be addressed through strong partnerships because UNHCR may not have a permanent presence in every country or territory.
This programme matters because it strengthens local and regional responses, expands access to rights and services, and supports long-term solutions for displaced and vulnerable populations.
By working with civil society, governments and community-based actors, UNHCR aims to build sustainable protection systems that promote dignity, resilience and inclusion.
How to Apply or Prepare a Strong Expression of Interest
Organisations should prepare a clear expression of interest that demonstrates capacity, relevance and alignment with UNHCR’s protection priorities.
Step 1: Confirm Geographic Relevance
Applicants should confirm that they can operate in one or more eligible countries or territories in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.
They should clearly state the proposed location or locations of implementation.
Step 2: Define the Target Population
Applicants should identify the groups they plan to support.
This may include refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, people at risk of statelessness or other forcibly displaced people.
Step 3: Select the Main Intervention Area
Applicants should identify the programme area where they have strongest capacity.
This may include:
- Legal assistance
- Documentation support
- Protection monitoring
- Humanitarian assistance
- Livelihoods
- Education access
- Advocacy
- Capacity building
- Socio-economic inclusion
Step 4: Demonstrate Protection Expertise
The application should explain the organisation’s experience with protection work.
Applicants should describe previous work with displaced people, vulnerable populations, legal systems, service referrals or human rights issues.
Step 5: Explain the Proposed Activities
Applicants should clearly describe the activities they can deliver.
Activities should be practical, relevant and aligned with UNHCR priorities in the selected location.
Step 6: Show Coordination Capacity
Applicants should explain how they will coordinate with national authorities, civil society, communities and other relevant partners.
Strong coordination is important for effective protection and sustainable solutions.
Step 7: Include Monitoring and Evaluation
Applicants should explain how results will be measured.
This may include indicators related to legal assistance, documentation, referrals, livelihoods, education access, training, advocacy or service access.
Step 8: Address Safeguarding and Ethics
Applicants should show how they will protect the dignity, safety and privacy of displaced people.
This includes confidentiality, informed consent, protection-sensitive communication and responsible case management.
Step 9: Demonstrate Sustainability
Applicants should explain how the proposed work will strengthen national systems, local capacity or long-term inclusion pathways.
This helps ensure that support continues beyond short-term assistance.
Step 10: Submit According to UNHCR Requirements
Applications should be submitted according to the official UNHCR instructions and timelines.
Applicants should ensure that all required information is complete and accurate.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applicants should avoid the following mistakes:
- Submitting a generic proposal without clear geographic focus
- Failing to identify the target population
- Not showing experience with protection or displaced populations
- Proposing activities outside UNHCR priorities
- Providing weak evidence of operational capacity
- Ignoring documentation and legal protection needs
- Failing to include monitoring and evaluation
- Not addressing safeguarding and confidentiality
- Overlooking coordination with national authorities and civil society
- Assuming submission guarantees a partnership agreement
- Providing unclear or unrealistic implementation plans
Tips for a Strong Application
A strong expression of interest should:
- Clearly align with UNHCR protection priorities
- Demonstrate experience with refugees, asylum seekers or stateless persons
- Identify specific countries or territories for implementation
- Present realistic and practical activities
- Show strong local or regional partnerships
- Include legal, protection, livelihoods or education expertise where relevant
- Explain how results will be monitored
- Address safeguarding and ethical standards
- Demonstrate capacity to work with national authorities
- Show how activities support durable solutions and inclusion
FAQ
1. What is this UNHCR Call for Expression of Interest about?
It seeks organisations to support protection, assistance and durable solutions for refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons and other forcibly displaced people across the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.
2. Which locations are covered?
The initiative covers Aruba, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Curaçao, Antigua and Barbuda, Suriname, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Montserrat, Barbados, the Virgin Islands (UK), Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Anguilla.
3. Who can apply?
Organisations with relevant capacity and commitment to deliver protection, assistance or durable solutions activities in eligible locations may apply.
4. What activities may be supported?
Supported activities may include legal assistance, asylum support, documentation assistance, humanitarian assistance, livelihoods, education support, advocacy, capacity building, monitoring and socio-economic inclusion.
5. Does submitting an application guarantee a partnership?
No. Submission of an application does not automatically lead to a partnership agreement. Selection depends on UNHCR priorities, operational requirements and availability of funding.
6. What target groups does the programme support?
The programme supports refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, people at risk of statelessness and other forcibly displaced or vulnerable people requiring protection.
7. Why is documentation support important?
Documentation helps displaced people access services, move safely, pursue livelihoods, obtain education and strengthen self-reliance.
Conclusion
The UNHCR Call for Expression of Interest supports partnerships that expand protection, assistance and durable solutions for displaced and stateless people in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.
The programme focuses on legal assistance, documentation, asylum procedures, humanitarian support, livelihoods, education access, capacity building and socio-economic inclusion.
Organisations should prepare strong applications that demonstrate protection expertise, geographic relevance, operational capacity, ethical standards, coordination ability and commitment to improving rights, dignity and long-term solutions for forcibly displaced and stateless people.
For more information, visit UN Partner Portal.
