    Humanitarian Assistance: Protecting Refugee Women and Girls
    Remains a Significant Challenge (23-MAY-03, GAO-03-663).

    Women and children refugees, who comprise 80 percent of the
    estimated 12 million refugees worldwide, are among the world's
    most vulnerable populations. They are subject to gender-based
    violence, including physical harm, rape, and unequal access to
    humanitarian assistance. GAO was asked to (1) assess efforts by
    the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to protect
    refugees, especially with regard to women and girls; (2)
    determine what steps U.N. and international organizations have
    taken to prevent sexual exploitation of refugee women by
    humanitarian workers; and (3) describe U.S. government efforts to
    support adequate protection for vulnerable populations.
    -------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
    REPORTNUM:   GAO-03-663
        ACCNO:   A06963
      TITLE:     Humanitarian Assistance: Protecting Refugee Women and
    Girls Remains a Significant Challenge
         DATE:   05/23/2003
      SUBJECT:   Best practices
    	     International organizations
    	     Refugees
    	     Sex crimes
    	     Sexual abuse
    	     Strategic planning
    	     Women
    	     Children

    ******************************************************************
    ** This file contains an ASCII representation of the text of a  **
    ** GAO Product.                                                 **
    **                                                              **
    ** No attempt has been made to display graphic images, although **
    ** figure captions are reproduced.  Tables are included, but    **
    ** may not resemble those in the printed version.               **
    **                                                              **
    ** Please see the PDF (Portable Document Format) file, when     **
    ** available, for a complete electronic file of the printed     **
    ** document's contents.                                         **
    **                                                              **
    ******************************************************************
    GAO-03-663

    Report to the Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Foreign Relations, U.
    S. Senate

    United States General Accounting Office

    GAO

    May 2003 HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

    Protecting Refugee Women and Girls Remains a Significant Challenge

    GAO- 03- 663

    UNHCR and international organizations have developed guidelines, best
    practices, and other measures to improve protection of refugee women and
    girls. However, weaknesses in its staffing process and training limit the
    effectiveness of these measures. UNHCR lacks a formal strategic workforce
    plan that links the organization*s objectives, resources, and staffing;
    its staff assignment and rotation policies have resulted in extended
    vacancies at key protection posts; and it provides little practical
    training for most UNHCR and implementing partner staff on protection
    concepts and techniques. UNHCR could also make better use of partnering
    arrangements with nongovernmental and international organizations to boost
    its protection capacity.

    In response to allegations in 2001 of sexual abuse and exploitation of
    women and girl refugees by relief workers and peacekeepers, the U. N. and
    other international organizations introduced policies and procedures to
    address the problem, such as codes of conduct and mechanisms to report and
    act on new allegations of abuse of power. While these efforts have raised
    awareness among workers in refugee settings, international organizations

    face continuing sexual exploitation of women by relief workers, and the
    issue remains a real and significant problem.

    The U. S. government, through the Department of State, supports the
    protection of refugees and other vulnerable populations primarily through
    its funding to international organizations. It is also a strong advocate
    at the United Nations, within international organizations, and at the
    country level to increase protection efforts.

    Burundian Refugees in Tanzania Women and children refugees, who comprise
    80 percent of the estimated 12 million refugees

    worldwide, are among the world*s most vulnerable populations. They are
    subject to gender- based violence, including physical harm,

    rape, and unequal access to humanitarian assistance. GAO was asked to (1)
    assess efforts by the U. N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to
    protect refugees, especially with regard to women and girls; (2) determine

    what steps U. N. and international organizations have taken to prevent
    sexual exploitation of refugee women by humanitarian workers; and (3)
    describe U. S. government efforts to support adequate protection for
    vulnerable populations.

    GAO recommends that the Secretary of State work to reform UNHCR*s staffing
    system, expand protection training, encourage protection partnering, and
    maintain focus on combating sexual exploitation of women and girls. State
    agreed with our

    recommendations. UNHCR disagreed with fundamentally reforming its staffing
    system, stating that better instruments for assigning staff and managing
    vacancies are sufficient remedies. We maintain that UNHCR needs a
    strategic workforce plan and better

    staff assignment and rotation policies to ensure that certain vacant duty
    stations are filled.

    www. gao. gov/ cgi- bin/ getrpt? GAO- 03- 663. To view the full product,
    including the scope and methodology, click on the link above. For more
    information, contact David B. Gootnick, (202) 512- 3149, gootnickd@ gao.
    gov. Highlights of GAO- 03- 663, a report to the

    Ranking Minority Member, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

    May 2003

    HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

    Protecting Refugee Women and Girls Remains a Significant Challenge

    Page i GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance Letter 1 Results in Brief 2
    Background 4 Recent Action Raises Awareness, but Refugee Women and Girls
    Continue to Face Violence 7 Despite Remedial Actions, Sexual Exploitation
    and Abuse of

    Power Still a Problem 22 U. S. Government Funds International
    Organizations* Protection Activities 26 Conclusions 28 Recommendations for
    Executive Action 29 Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 30 Appendix I Scope
    and Methodology 34

    Appendix II Catalogue of Refugee Protection Reports 36 Bibliography 40
    Appendix III Comments from Department of State 43

    Appendix IV Comments from UNHCR 46

    Appendix V GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments 58 GAO Contacts 58
    Acknowledgments 58 Tables

    Table 1: UNHCR*s Approved Regular and Supplementary Budgets, Actual Funds
    Received, and Percentage Difference, 1998- 2002 11 Table 2: Protection
    Officer Vacancies by Region 16 Table 3: State Department*s Bureau of
    Population, Refugees, and

    Migration Contributions to UNHCR, United Nations Contents

    Page ii GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance Children*s Fund, and the
    International Committee of the Red Cross, 1998- 2002 26 Figures

    Figure 1: Burundian Refugee Women 6 Figure 2: Registration of New Refugee
    Arrivals in Tanzania 8 Figure 3: Distribution of Protection Officer Posts
    and Assisted Populations in High- Risk Countries 14 Figure 4: Refugee
    *Temporary Shelters* in Thailand 21 Figure 5: A Karen Women*s Committee
    Income- Generating Activity, Mae La, Thailand, 2003 24 This is a work of
    the U. S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the

    United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety
    without further permission from GAO. It may contain copyrighted graphics,
    images or other materials. Permission from the copyright holder may be
    necessary should you wish to reproduce copyrighted materials separately
    from GAO*s product.

    Page 1 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance May 23, 2003 The Honorable
    Joseph Biden Ranking Minority Member

    Committee on Foreign Relations United States Senate

    Dear Senator Biden: Women and children refugees, who comprise 80 percent
    of the estimated 12 million refugees worldwide, are among the world*s most
    vulnerable populations. Violence against women and girls has historically
    been, and continues to be, prevalent among refugees, including those
    fleeing current conflicts in Burma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
    and Liberia. Gender- based violence harm perpetuated against a person
    because of gender- based power inequities is aimed primarily at women and
    girls. In refugee settings, this violence can take the form of
    intimidation, physical

    harm, sexual abuse including rape, and unequal access to humanitarian
    assistance. Although no systematic data exist about the magnitude of the
    problem, reports by numerous international organizations over the past two
    decades demonstrate that sexual abuse of refugee women and girls is
    pervasive and present in almost all refugee settings. Reports out of West
    Africa in 2001 cited sexual abuse and exploitation of refugee women and
    girls by relief workers from international and nongovernmental
    organizations and by peacekeepers* the very people charged with protecting
    refugees. The U. N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the lead
    international organization charged with providing protection and
    assistance to refugees and other vulnerable populations. Because of your
    concerns about the protection of this vulnerable

    population and the allegations of relief workers* and peacekeepers* abuses
    of power, you asked us to (1) assess efforts by UNHCR and its implementing
    partners to protect refugee women and girls from genderbased violence; (2)
    determine what steps the United Nations and international organizations
    have taken to prevent relief workers* and peacekeepers* abuse of women and
    girls; and (3) describe the steps the U. S. government takes to protect
    refugees and other vulnerable persons.

    To assess the efforts taken to protect refugee women and girls, we
    conducted fieldwork in refugee camps and surrounding areas in the
    Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Thailand.
    Collectively, these four nations have more than 1 million refugees, face

    United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548

    Page 2 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance protracted refugee crises in
    which refugees and other vulnerable populations are under imminent threat
    of physical and sexual violence,

    and were recommended as representative case study countries by State and
    think tank officials. We assessed the adequacy of international mechanisms
    to identify and provide protection to refugees from the time of their
    initial flight to their arrival and settlement in refugee camps to

    repatriation home. In addition to extensive interviews with refugee women
    and girls, refugee leaders, and camp management, we supplemented our
    field- level information with meetings with U. S. government, United
    Nations, Red Cross Movement, peacekeeping, and nongovernmental
    organization officials at the headquarter, regional, and country levels.
    In our work with UNHCR, we met with officials from 19 different offices
    and examined extensive staffing data* including vacancies, duty station
    categories, and worldwide distribution of staff. To assess U. N. and
    international organizations* response to reports of abuse by staff and
    peacekeepers, we reviewed a series of remedial action plans recently
    issued by U. N. and other international organizations and assessed how

    these plans were being implemented in refugee camps. We also obtained
    independent perspectives from recognized experts within the human rights,
    think tank, and refugee advocacy communities on U. N. and U. S. efforts to
    provide refugee protection. (For a more complete description of our scope
    and methodology, see app. I.)

    Over the last decade, UNHCR and its implementing partners have boosted
    their efforts to protect refugee women and girls from sexual abuse and
    violence by creating policies, best practice guidelines, and programs to
    protect this population. At the field level, gender based violence
    initiatives are targeting vulnerable persons* such as female- headed
    households*

    and providing them with secure shelter and access to services. Despite
    these gains, shortfalls in UNHCR*s resources and its weak management in
    staffing and training limit the effectiveness of measures taken. Regarding

    resources, failure of donors to fulfill funding pledges forced UNHCR to
    make budget cuts of $73 million* nearly 10 percent of its regular budget*
    in 2002. These cuts led to a reduction in protection programs aimed at
    women and girls. Regarding staffing issues, UNHCR does not have a
    strategic workforce plan* a plan that links the organization*s objectives,
    resources, and staffing* to maximize the physical protection of refugees.
    Consequently, the number of protection staff in some high- risk countries
    is insufficient and impedes protection efforts. Furthermore, UNHCR*s staff

    assignments and rotations are voluntary and have resulted in extended
    Results in Brief

    Page 3 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance vacancies at key protection
    posts. In Tanzania, for example, UNHCR has 1 junior protection officer
    responsible for the physical protection needs of

    155,000 refugees in 5 camps. Regarding training, we found that most UNHCR
    staff and staff within nongovernmental organizations that serve as their
    implementing partners in camps have not received practical training on
    protection concepts and techniques, such as how to identify and

    address sexual violence cases. Finally, we found that UNHCR*s implementing
    partners and other international organizations have protection
    capabilities that provide significant opportunities for partnering
    arrangements to fill gaps in refugee protection.

    In response to reports at the end of 2001 alleging sexual abuse and
    exploitation of women and girl refugees by relief workers and
    peacekeepers, the United Nations conducted an in- depth investigation into

    the allegations, and international organizations adopted codes of conduct
    and instituted training programs for their employees. During our fieldwork
    in numerous refugee camps, we found there was high awareness of the
    ethical and professional conduct expected of relief workers and
    peacekeepers, and there were established mechanisms to report and act upon
    any new allegations of abuse of power. Despite these efforts,
    international organizations still face continuing sexual exploitation of
    refugees by relief workers. Although the in- depth investigation could not
    verify specific charges of abuse, it found other cases and concluded that
    sexual exploitation by relief workers was a real problem. During our

    fieldwork, we observed officials from UNHCR and nongovernmental
    organizations investigating new cases of sexual exploitation and abuse by
    workers in Tanzania and Sierra Leone. Based upon extensive interviews with
    relief workers and refugee women, our observations, and review of 12 years
    of reports, refugee women and girls remain extremely vulnerable to sexual
    exploitation and abuse of power due to (1) the high level of

    poverty among refugees, (2) limited monitoring of camp situations by
    international relief workers, and (3) cultural attitudes on the part of
    some relief workers and refugee- led camp management. According to relief
    and human rights experts, continued high- level management focus on

    preventing exploitation is necessary so attention does not wane before it
    becomes part of organizations* institutional culture.

    The U. S. government*s role in protecting refugees and other vulnerable
    populations has been primarily through its funding of international
    organizations. In 2002, the Department of State provided UNHCR and the
    International Committee of the Red Cross* the two key international
    organizations mandated to provide protection* with $265 million and $124
    million, respectively. Furthermore, the Department of State in 2002 funded

    Page 4 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance a number of small grants for
    projects targeted to address specific protection problems in countries.
    During our fieldwork, we observed

    several of these protection projects* including some covering sexual and
    gender- based violence prevention* that addressed gaps in protection in
    Sierra Leone and Tanzania. The U. S. Agency for International Development
    (USAID), through its Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance

    and Office of Transition Initiatives, indirectly contributes to refugee
    protection efforts. Finally, in addition to financial support, the U. S.
    government plays an active role advocating for the protection of refugees
    and vulnerable populations at the United Nations, within international
    organizations, and at the country level.

    This report makes recommendations that the Secretary of State work with U.
    N. member states to address the inadequacies in the UNHCR staffing system,
    expand protection training programs, encourage the development of
    protection partnering arrangements, and maintain international
    organizations* focus on combating sexual exploitation of refugee women and
    girls.

    In comments on a draft of this report, the Department of State said we
    accurately reflect the reality of current efforts to provide protection to
    refugee women and girls, noting that shortfalls in funding,
    prioritization, and an ineffective staff management system hamper UNHCR*s
    protection efforts. UNHCR disagreed with our recommendation to
    fundamentally reform its staffing system, stating that improvements to
    instruments for assigning staff and managing vacancies, as well as more
    predictable donor support, would be sufficient to address these problems.
    The problems in UNHCR*s staffing system have been long documented and
    improvements aimed at selected aspects of the system have not been
    effective. In our view, therefore, creation of a strategic workforce plan
    and the development of a staff assignment and rotation policy are
    necessary to

    address the protection needs of refugees in high- risk and difficult duty
    locations. A more detailed discussion of UNHCR*s comments and our response
    is included at the end of this report.

    UNHCR is the lead agency in a network of international organizations
    active in the protection and assistance of refugees and other populations
    that are vulnerable in war and conflict settings. Other major participants
    include the Red Cross Movement, the World Food Program, and the United
    Nations Children*s Fund, as well as nongovernmental organizations such as
    the International Rescue Committee and Save the Children. Established in
    1950 to help resettle European refugees in the aftermath of Background

    Page 5 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance World War II, UNHCR is guided
    by the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of
    Refugees, both of which detail refugees* rights. 1 UNHCR*s primary purpose
    as mandated by the United Nations is to

    provide international protection for refugees by ensuring that their basic
    human rights are respected. Further, UNHCR is to ensure that individuals
    seeking asylum are given access to refugee status determination

    procedures, are not refused entry at borders, and are protected from
    forced return to a situation of danger. UNHCR*s policies, strategic
    objectives, and budget are set by its Executive Committee, which meets
    annually to set the organization*s priorities and direction. (Fig. 1
    depicts Burundian refugee women who told us of their protection concerns
    in the Kasulu refugee camp in western Tanzania.)

    1 Additional international instruments underpinning the rights and
    guarantees relevant to the protection of refugee women and girls include
    the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
    Women, ratified by the United Nations in 1979; the Declaration on the
    Elimination of Violence Against Women, adopted by the U. N. General

    Assembly in 1993; and the subsequent Global Platform for Action, adopted
    at the Beijing Fourth Conference on Women in 1995; U. N. Security Council
    Resolution 1325 (2000); and Guidelines on International Protection:
    Gender- related persecution (2002).

    Page 6 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance Figure 1: Burundian Refugee
    Women

    Factors inherent in armed conflict situations have changed the context in
    which UNHCR and other relief organizations provide assistance and
    protection to refugees and other vulnerable populations. In these types of
    situations, the nature of refugee and displacement flows has changed from
    persons fleeing organized conflict between states to an environment of

    civil war in which armed state and rebel groups purposely target civilian
    populations. The danger of operating in conflict zones and the personal
    security risks to relief workers are now major limitations to involvement
    in protection matters. For example, from 1997 through 2001, 106 relief

    workers were killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan, Angola, Rwanda,
    and Sudan. Even upon arrival at a refugee or displacement camp, women and
    girls remain vulnerable to violence from the local community, combatants
    who use the camp as a rest and relaxation base, and other refugees. In
    addition, some governments, such as Burma, block international
    organizations* access to their vulnerable populations, thus Changing
    Nature of

    Refugee Protection

    Page 7 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance hampering protection
    activities. (See app. II for a listing of U. N. reports that cite sexual
    violence against women.)

    In response to the changing nature of the refugee context, humanitarian
    organizations in 1996 reexamined the legal, practical, and policy issues
    relevant to protection. Policy documents that emerged from this review
    defined protection as actions aimed at obtaining full respect for the
    rights of individuals by (1) preventing abuse; (2) restoring adequate
    living conditions subsequent to a pattern of abuse; and (3) fostering a
    social, cultural, institutional, and legal environment conducive to
    respect for the rights of the individual. 2 For the purposes of this
    report, we focus on the physical dimensions of protecting refugees,
    especially women and girls.

    Over the last few years, the international community has boosted
    protection of women and girl refugees from sexual abuse and violence
    through international conventions, new standards and guidelines, and
    increased programs on sexual and gender- based violence. However, UNHCR
    has faced heavy budget cuts because of shortfalls in contributions from
    international donors, and these cuts have directly impacted funding for
    gender- based protection programs. In addition, UNHCR lacks a strategic
    workforce plan linking its mission to its staffing system, which has led
    to insufficient protection staff in some high- risk countries.
    Furthermore, most UNHCR staff and those of their implementing partners
    have not been trained in protection concepts and techniques. We also

    found that UNHCR has opportunities to partner with other international
    organizations that it could use more effectively to increase protection of
    refugees.

    Over the last decade, UNHCR and its implementing partners have advanced
    the protection needs of refugee women and girls through a number of
    mechanisms, including the development of UNHCR Policy on Refugee Women
    (1990) 3 and Sexual Violence Against Refugees:

    2 Workshop on Protection of Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations:
    Doing Something and Doing It Well, report of the workshop held at the
    International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, Switzerland, January
    2001.

    3 UNHCR Policy on Refugee Women recognized that protection needs of men
    and women differ significantly and emphasized the importance of
    mainstreaming women*s protection needs into all protection and assistance
    activities. Recent Action Raises

    Awareness, but Refugee Women and Girls Continue to Face Violence

    UNHCR Has Taken Action to Improve Protection but Results Are Mixed

    Page 8 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance Guidelines on Prevention and
    Response (1995). 4 In addition, during our fieldwork in Sierra Leone and
    Tanzania, we observed UNHCR protection

    activities that identified vulnerable persons upon their initial arrival
    in their country of asylum* such as female- headed households and
    unaccompanied minors* provided them with secure shelter, and assigned them
    social service staff for continued assistance and monitoring. (Fig. 2

    depicts a group of new refugee arrivals in Tanzania at a border reception
    center being registered by UNHCR staff.)

    Figure 2: Registration of New Refugee Arrivals in Tanzania

    Throughout 2001, UNHCR sponsored a dialogue with refugee women that
    focused on their unique protection vulnerabilities and concerns. As a
    result, in 2002 the High Commissioner established five commitments to

    4 Sexual Violence Against Refugees: Guidelines on Prevention and Response
    outlined practical steps and provided basic advice on preventing and
    responding to sexual violence, including the associated key legal,
    medical, and psychosocial issues.

    Page 9 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance improve protection of and
    assistance to refugee women and establish a link among gender equality,
    the advancement of women, and the

    protection of refugees. Based on our fieldwork and discussions with UNHCR
    and relief officials, we found that UNHCR has had mixed results in its
    efforts to implement the commitments and has not established mechanisms
    for their monitoring.

    The High Commissioner*s five commitments to refugee women cover the
    following areas:

     Sexual and gender- based violence programs. UNHCR committed to develop
    comprehensive country- level strategies to address sexual and gender-
    based violence. The sexual and gender- based violence programs UNHCR has
    set up in recent years have increased awareness in both men and women. In
    our fieldwork, we observed sexual and gender- based violence programs in
    various camps. In Sierra Leone and Thailand, refugee women were attending
    gender awareness workshops and were active in monitoring their camps for
    incidents of sexual violence and assisting victims. In Tanzania, women
    participated in a firewood collection project designed to protect women
    and girls when they are outside of camps collecting firewood and very
    vulnerable to sexual assault. We also observed prevention and response
    strategies in place. In Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and Thailand, for example,
    refugee women told us that the camp

    gender- based violence centers and programs raised their awareness of the
    problem, informed them of their rights, and provided a practical means to
    get help.

     Food distribution. In response to women*s difficulties in obtaining
    their rations when distribution is controlled by male- dominated camp
    committees or made directly to male heads of households without women*s
    participation, UNHCR pledged to ensure that refugee women participate
    directly and indirectly in the management and distribution of food and
    nonfood items. At the sites we visited, we observed that women were
    generally represented in food distribution programs. In Tanzania, at least
    50 percent of the food distribution was handled by women, although
    participation levels remain under target in Sierra Leone and Thailand.

     Camp management. To ensure that women*s concerns are heard and acted
    upon, the High Commissioner committed that 50 percent of refugee camp
    management representatives would be women. Our fieldwork showed that
    women*s involvement in camp leadership positions varied, partly due to
    cultural barriers in traditionally patriarchal societies. In Sierra Leone
    and Tanzania, camp officials and refugee women told us that women were
    very active, representing nearly 50 percent of the camp High
    Commissioner*s

    Commitments to Refugee Women

    Page 10 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance leadership positions. In the
    Democratic Republic of the Congo and Thailand, however, we learned that
    women are finding it more difficult to

    overcome cultural barriers to their participation in camp committees.
    Registration of women. UNHCR committed to individually register all

    refugee women and provide them with relevant documentation to ensure their
    security, freedom of movement, and access to essential services in order
    to alleviate their dependence on men. During our fieldwork, we found that
    UNHCR is generally not individually registering women. Based upon our
    observations in Sierra Leone and Tanzania and on UNHCR*s own reports,
    UNHCR is continuing its practice of designating males as head of
    households.

     Sanitary material. The lack of sanitary materials has negative health,
    social, economic, and psychological implications for women. As a result,
    the High Commissioner committed to making the provision of sanitary
    materials standard practice in all UNHCR assistance programs. The
    organization is finding this commitment difficult to fulfill, due to a
    lack of funds and commitment to the issue by some staff and implementing
    partners. A 2000- 2001 UNHCR survey found that the provision of sanitary
    materials was inconsistent in terms of quantity, quality, method, and
    frequency of distribution. In May 2002, a State Department team also noted
    that the distribution of sanitary supplies covers only 40 percent of the
    relevant population in central Africa. In Sierra Leone and Tanzania, we
    learned that in some camps, a lack of funds allowed for the procurement
    and distribution of sanitary materials only to school- age girls.

    UNHCR*s protection efforts are constrained by recurring budgetary
    shortfalls. UNHCR*s Executive Committee, comprised of 61 member states,
    approves and supervises UNHCR*s annual work plan and approves its budget.
    The approved budget is based on pledges of support from the executive
    committee members themselves and other donor governments. However, in
    recent years donor governments have failed to meet their funding
    commitments. 5 In 2002, UNHCR had to cut $73 million from its regular
    budget* nearly 10 percent because of unfulfilled donor

    5 Unlike other U. N. system organizations, UNHCR*s budget is not based on
    assessed contributions from member states, but is voluntary. The U. S.
    government annually contributes 25 percent of UNHCR*s approved budget.
    Budget Shortfalls Inhibit

    Protection Efforts

    Page 11 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance contributions. Since 1998
    UNHCR has had to operate with an average 11 percent shortfall in its
    regular budget. (Table 1 shows UNHCR*s regular and supplementary budgets
    and actual funds available.)

    Table 1: UNHCR*s Approved Regular and Supplementary Budgets, Actual Funds
    Received, and Percentage Difference, 1998- 2002

    Dollars in millions Year Regular budget Funds

    available Percentage difference Supplementary

    budget a Funds available Percentage

    difference

    1998 460 384 -17% 609 662 +9% 1999 b 437 385 -12 815 782 -4 2000 854 780
    -9 102 77 -25 2001 791 730 -8 108 146 +36 2002 802 729 -9 228 218 -4

    Source: UNHCR. a UNHCR*s supplementary budget consists of budgets
    authorized by the High Commissioner on an ad hoc basis for new situations
    that arise after the meeting of the Executive Committee. These budgets are
    exclusively funded from earmarked contributions and cannot be transferred
    to cover shortfalls in

    the regular budget. b Due to the introduction of a new budget structure in
    2000, subsequent regular and supplementary

    budget numbers are not directly comparable with those in 1998 and 1999.

    According to UNHCR program documents, budget shortfalls have forced the
    organization to reduce the scope of refugee operations and cut some
    protection activities altogether. For example,

     the Refugee Women*s Unit cut field missions that were to support refugee
    women*s registration and documentation, as well as food distribution and
    camp management;

     newly arrived Liberian refugee women were forced to reside in
    overcrowded communal shelters;  refugee registration programs in Iran
    were suspended; and  the number of protection officers monitoring the
    movements of refugees across international borders in Pakistan was cut.

    UNHCR lacks a strategic workforce plan that links the organization*s
    mission with its allocation of staff in the field. The organization*s
    staff assignment system and rotation policy leave numerous vacancies in
    key posts. Stopgap staffing mechanisms UNHCR uses to address emergency
    Flawed Staffing System

    Undermines UNHCR*s Protection Mandate

    Page 12 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance situations are intended only
    to address short- term emergencies and can lead to additional problems.
    Thus the number of protection staff is

    insufficient in many high- risk refugee situations and the organization is
    struggling to meet this population*s protection needs.

    At the end of 2002, UNHCR had 1,301 professional staff, including 402 (31
    percent) in headquarters and 899 (69 percent) serving in the field. The
    professional staff carries out UNHCR*s core mandate of protecting

    refugees and the organization*s 11 strategic objectives, such as improving
    the physical protection of refugees and monitoring their safety and
    wellbeing. Of these professional staff, UNHCR*s 320 protection officers
    have primary responsibility to protect refugees and other people of
    concern to the agency, although UNHCR*s field officers and community
    service officers (who are responsible for general management and
    assistance functions) also have protection duties, such as observing and
    reporting on potential problems.

    However, according to the Deputy High Commissioner and the Director of
    UNHCR*s Human Resources, the current process for managing human resources
    does not fully link the organization*s objectives, budgetary resources,
    and staffing. Currently, UNHCR*s process for allocating staff positions is
    largely based on available resources and broad operational plans rather
    than the protection requirements of refugees, according to UNHCR human
    resource officials. For example, in 2002, UNHCR*s Africa bureau and the
    Department for International Protection conducted an assessment of the
    protection staffing requirements in Africa and

    determined that 117 additional protection positions were needed. Due to
    funding constraints, however, only 21 additional positions were created.
    According to numerous relief and human rights officials, including some in
    UNHCR, current UNHCR staffing levels in Africa are insufficient relative
    to the protection caseload there.

    Related to the lack of a strategic staffing process, UNHCR does not
    conduct a global risk assessment of the threat level to refugees to help
    determine the number and distribution of all posts that could best protect
    refugees. Though determining minimum protection standards and optimal

    distribution of posts is outside the scope of this review, our analysis of
    high- risk countries found that UNHCR*s distribution of protection posts
    is UNHCR Lacks a Workforce

    Strategy

    Page 13 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance not consistent with the risk
    level and the caseload of the refugee setting. 6 Specifically, high- risk
    countries in Africa have 55 percent of the protection posts but nearly 80
    percent of the assisted refugee population. Conversely,

    high- risk countries in Europe have 22 percent of the protection posts but
    only 4 percent of UNHCR*s assisted refugee population. Furthermore, nearly
    60 percent of the protection posts in low- risk countries are in Europe
    and serve less than 30 percent of the population at this risk level. While
    protection officers in low- risk countries in Europe play an important
    role in influencing governments regarding asylum law, the bulk of their
    work focuses on legal issues as opposed to the more immediate need of
    physical protection. Figure 3 shows high- risk countries and the
    distribution of protection officer posts and refugees within each region.

    6 UNHCR does not formally designate risk levels for refugees. The World
    Bank has developed a database for measuring risk and governance; it
    includes 160 countries and is based on information from sources such as
    Standard and Poors and the World Economic Forum. We used political
    stability/ violence measurements from this database to identify countries
    of high risk (Daniel Kaufmann, Aart Kraay, and Pablo Zoido- Lobaton,
    "Governance Matters II: Updated Indicators for 2000- 01*), World Bank
    Policy Research Department Working Paper (Washington, D. C.: 2002).

    Page 14 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance Figure 3: Distribution of
    Protection Officer Posts and Assisted Populations in High- Risk Countries

    Page 16 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance Protection experts
    acknowledge that a visible field presence of staff is one of the most
    effective means of preventing harm to refugees and other

    vulnerable persons. However, since the mid- 1990s, UNHCR has identified
    staff vacancies, particularly in duty stations that already function with
    minimal staff, as negatively affecting its ability to fulfill its mandate.
    UNHCR staffing data in late 2002 indicated that 20 percent of its 320
    protection positions were vacant. Table 2 shows protection vacancies as of
    October 2002.

    Table 2: Protection Officer Vacancies by Region Source: UNHCR. a Total
    posts include an additional 23 positions at headquarters.

    The Africa region had almost half of all protection vacancies, including
    all the protection vacancies UNHCR is chronically unable to fill. We
    observed vacancies in key protection situations during our fieldwork. For
    example, in Tanzania*s Kibondo camps, two protection officer posts were
    vacant, leaving only one junior protection officer to cover 155,000
    refugees. We also observed that vacancies led to significant protection
    problems for refugee women and girls in and around the African Great Lakes
    region (Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and
    Rwanda) and West Africa (Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Ivory Coast).
    The lack of sufficient staff resulted in long delays in resolving
    individual protection cases, which in turn discouraged reporting of
    additional sexual violence cases. For example, in Tanzania, UNHCR
    protection staff told us that some sexual assault cases were not pursued
    or were dropped altogether due to lack of staff and other resources to
    devote to them. As a result, victims of sexual violence often remained at
    risk while the perpetrator remained at large. Numerous relief officials in
    the field with whom we spoke voiced Vacancies Pose Protracted

    Protection Problems

    Bureau Vacancies in

    nondifficult duty stations Vacancies in

    difficult duty stations Total vacancies Total protection

    positions Percentage of

    protection vacancies

    Africa 10 21 31 103 30% Central Asia, Southwest Asia, Near and Middle East
    4 9 13 49 27 Asia and Pacific 5 1 6 30 20 Americas 2 0 2 15 13 Europe 6 3
    9 83 11 Department of International Protection (headquarters) 3 0 3 17 18

    Total 30 34 64 320 a 20

    Page 17 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance frustration over UNHCR*s
    inability to follow up on protection cases that were referred to them.

    In general, UNHCR employs a voluntary staff assignment and rotation
    policy: UNHCR does not direct staff where to serve, and staff members are
    responsible for finding and applying for their next post before their tour
    ends. While the High Commissioner emphasized in a 2001 letter to staff
    that it is incumbent upon UNHCR staff to be in the field, near refugees,
    to provide effective protection, many hardship posts are vacant or

    understaffed. One problem is that UNHCR does not have a centralized way to
    track and ensure that staff members apply for their next position, 7
    resulting in both post vacancies and staff being without assignment. As of

    January 2003, according to UNHCR staffing data, 109 staff were inbetween
    assignments* staying either at their home of record or at their old
    assignment with an average of 4 months lapsing before staff took a new
    position. 8 Furthermore, UNHCR*s regulations do not require staff members
    to rotate

    among duty station categories (i. e., from a nonhardship to a hardship
    duty station), although there is an expectation that they will do so.
    According to some UNHCR staff with whom we spoke, there is a sentiment
    among staff

    that being posted in a remote location (also referred to as the ** deep
    field**) negatively affects a person*s promotion potential, as they would
    be *forgotten* by those making decisions in Geneva. In addition, the
    percentage of staff over the age of 40 has increased from 54 percent in
    1990 to 70 percent in 2000, and UNHCR officials acknowledge that a larger
    percentage of this aging workforce is reluctant or unwilling to serve in
    difficult duty stations because of personal reasons. UNHCR*s work requires
    many staff to live in remote, isolated locations that are not conducive to
    family life, and with more than half the duty stations designated as
    nonfamily, it is difficult to find enough staff willing to be separated
    from their families. According to UNHCR human resource officials, a
    further consequence of the organization*s limited rotation policy is that
    high- risk, hardship duty stations are more likely to attract

    7 The onus is on the individual staff member to apply for his or her next
    post; UNHCR has no mechanism to ensure that staff apply in time for a
    seamless transition from one post to another. 8 During the comment period
    on the draft report, UNHCR clarified that 80 percent of staff in between
    assignments are deployed on temporary missions or assignments, or continue
    at their post until their successor arrives. Staff Assignment and Rotation

    Policies Are Ineffective

    Page 18 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance less experienced junior staff
    without dependents than more experienced senior staff with dependents.
    UNHCR relies on short- term staffing deployments during emergency

    refugee operations to fill vacancies or augment country teams. Deployments
    generally last for 2 months but can extend up to 6 months. According to
    UNHCR and relief officials, while emergency deployments do help fill an
    immediate protection gap, the system has several drawbacks. Among them are
    the high operational and financial costs involved in relocating staff.
    Emergency deployments require intensive staff training

    and orientation and incur substantial transportation and relocation
    expenses. The emergency deployment mechanism can also leave a vacancy in
    the deploying staff*s original duty station. In Tanzania, for example, we
    observed that a senior protection officer responsible for more than
    100,000 refugees was away from his/ her post for more than 6 months while
    on emergency deployment in Afghanistan. During Sierra Leone*s recent civil
    war, UNHCR had 77 emergency staff deployments on 2- month missions over a
    19- month period. According to the Country Representative, so many staff
    rotated in and out that he barely learned their names. Relief officials
    active during the Sierra Leone emergency told us that by the time the new
    UNHCR staff understood the local protection

    context it was time for them to rotate back out, which limited their
    effectiveness. According to another senior UNHCR field official, the
    protection workload during Sierra Leone*s civil war would not have
    constituted an emergency if an adequate number of staff had been assigned
    initially.

    To help fill empty field positions, UNHCR also relies on U. N. volunteers
    and project staff* workers contracted for a limited time by a specific
    project. In 2002, there were 106 U. N. volunteers serving in protection
    functions. However, according to UNHCR officials, while U. N. volunteers
    are a valuable source of staff support, they are often relatively
    inexperienced. Furthermore, according to UNHCR officials, because project
    staff are not regular UNHCR employees and are governed by restrictive
    employment regulations, they cannot work beyond an 8- hour day or on
    weekends. As a result, according to these officials, project staff are
    often unavailable during critical emergency periods. In Tanzania, for

    example, many of the Burundian refugees arrive during the night or over
    weekends, when crossing the border is considered safer. Because only UNHCR
    staff are available to assist during these surge periods, the workforce is
    even further strained. Stopgap Staffing Mechanisms

    Address Emergency Situations but Have Drawbacks

    Page 19 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance Although protection officers
    have primary responsibility for the protection of refugees, UNHCR states
    that all staff serve in a protection role.

    However, a long- standing impediment is insufficient training for
    nonprotection staff on protection issues, especially regarding women and
    girls. In our examination of UNHCR protection reports and evaluations
    between 1990 and 2002, we found about half cited the need for training to
    increase the organization*s capacity to protect women and children.

    However, during our fieldwork, we had extensive discussions with UNHCR
    officials and their implementing partners* staff and found that few of
    them had received any training on protection issues. For example, in a
    meeting with UNHCR*s field office team in Kibondo, Tanzania, only 4 of 43
    staff told us they had received training on protection issues. Similarly,
    in discussions with staff from UNHCR implementing partners, who are in the
    camps and in daily contact with the refugees, only a few had any
    protection- related training or were familiar with UNHCR*s guidelines on
    the protection of refugee women or children. In our discussions, we were
    further told that protection training was needed in such areas as how to
    identify and address sexual violence cases and how to work with refugee
    camp leaders and the local community to solve protection concerns.

    During the course of our review, we found that numerous protection
    training courses and modules have been developed and made available to
    UNHCR nonprotection staff and to implementing partners, such as Protecting
    Refugees: A Field Guide for NGOs (1999) and Human Rights and Refugee
    Protection (1995). However, according to several senior UNHCR officials,
    the organization has not committed the necessary time or resources to this
    training. These officials added that if UNHCR continues to assert that all
    field- based staff serve as protection officers, then it is incumbent that
    they be properly trained in protection issues. Furthermore, according to
    UNHCR implementing partners in Tanzania and Sierra Leone, there is a very
    high turnover rate among nongovernmental organization staff in the field
    and therefore a continuous need for training. While UNHCR has collaborated
    with international organizations such as

    the International Rescue Committee, CARE, Catholic Relief Services, and
    Save the Children in delivering humanitarian assistance, we observed that
    there are also opportunities to work with these types of organizations to

    help protect refugees. According to U. S. government and relief officials
    with whom we spoke, including other organizations in protection activities
    is necessary because of the increased scope and complexity of refugee
    situations worldwide and certain governments* restrictions on UNHCR*s
    access to refugees and vulnerable populations. Lack of Training Continues

    to Hinder Protection UNHCR Has Opportunities to Increase Partnering to
    Fill Protection Gaps

    Page 20 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance According to officials of
    international and nongovernmental organizations, these groups have some
    capacity and resources to assist and augment

    UNHCR*s protection efforts, though such collaboration has been rare thus
    far. Based on our observations during fieldwork and discussions with these
    officials, their organizations could provide personnel and other resources
    to

     assist in registering refugee women;  provide legal case management of
    victims of rape and sexual violence;  find durable solutions for
    refugees, such as identifying individuals for third

    country resettlement;  increase the number of international staff to
    monitor camps and

    surrounding areas for protection problems; and  ensure systematic
    reporting of incidents.

    In addition, UNHCR security personnel, who assess security and situation
    risks for staff in the field, said they could apply their expertise to
    refugees and other vulnerable populations and thus supplement the work of
    protection officers.

    During the course of our evaluation, we noted two partnerships already in
    existence that could serve as useful models on which to expand. For
    example, the International Rescue Committee*s Protection SURGE Capacity
    Project, started in 2001, placed 36 temporary protection staff in
    nonemergency refugee situations. In Sierra Leone, we met with a SURGE

    protection officer who was the only international staff available to
    receive and relocate more than 10, 000 fleeing Liberian refugees from the
    border after unexpected fighting in Liberia erupted. Also, the Red Cross
    Movement and nongovernmental organizations have recently collaborated with
    UNHCR in designing a protection- training workshop, called *Reach Out,*
    for mid- level non- UNHCR staff. 9 Figure 4 depicts the entrance of two

    refugee camps in Thailand. A nonsignatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention,
    Thailand denies formal refugee status to fleeing Burmese who are instead
    afforded only *temporary shelter* along its border. UNHCR,

    9 Both the Protection SURGE Capacity Project and the Reach Out protection
    training initiative were funded by State*s Bureau of Population, Refugees,
    and Migration.

    Page 21 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance which has only been accorded
    observer status by the Thai government, relies significantly on
    nongovernmental organizations to monitor the

    protection situation in the camps.

    Figure 4: Refugee *Temporary Shelters* in Thailand Another group that
    UNHCR may have greater opportunity to work with is U. N. peacekeeping
    forces, often the only international entity with some capability to
    protect refugees and other vulnerable groups in situations of armed
    conflict. We found that UNHCR and peacekeeping forces have worked together
    in some instances when force commanders judged that

    Page 22 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance mission mandates, resources,
    and capabilities permitted this collaboration. For example, a successful
    partnership occurred in 2001 when U. N.

    peacekeepers assisted in separating armed combatants from a refugee camp
    in northwestern Congo. According to U. N. and relief officials with whom
    we spoke, two key protection areas in which UNHCR and peacekeepers have
    opportunities to work together are:

     ensuring access to vulnerable populations for humanitarian assistance
    and protection; and

     separating civilians from armed combatants in refugee camps and
    settlements.

    While UNHCR officials in general viewed partnering as a positive
    development, they expressed concern that partnering could dilute the
    agency*s unique protection mandate by delegating its tasks to external
    parties. This concern has grown as European donors have channeled
    increasing proportions of their refugee funding to their bilateral aid
    agencies and national nongovernmental organizations that operate
    independently of UNHCR leadership. These officials noted that some
    nongovernmental organizations hold political views that may complicate
    UNHCR*s relationship with the refugees* country of origin and country of
    asylum. However, according to relief experts, partnerships can be
    structured so UNHCR continues to be the main interlocutor with governments
    and maintains primary responsibility for overall protection while
    international organizations help fulfill discrete protection tasks.

    Following allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by relief workers
    and U. N. peacekeepers in refugee settings in West Africa in 2001, the
    United Nations and international organizations undertook a number of
    remedial and preventive measures at both the global and country level. At
    the global level, the U. N. *s Office of Internal Oversight Services
    (OIOS) conducted a detailed investigation into the allegations presented
    in the February 2002 report by UNHCR and Save the Children- UK 10 and
    concluded that the charges could not be verified. However, during the
    course of the investigation, OIOS discovered other specific cases of abuse
    and concluded that sexual exploitation of refugees is a real problem. To

    10 UNHCR and Save the Children- UK, Sexual Violence & Exploitation: The
    Experience of Refugee Children in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone
    (Geneva: United Nations, Feb. 2002). Despite Remedial

    Actions, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Power Still a Problem

    Page 23 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance address the problem, the U.
    N. *s Inter- Agency Standing Committee 11 established a task force in 2002
    and implemented a plan of action for U. N. agencies and nongovernmental
    organization to follow. The plan focused

    on (1) outlining preventive actions to help agencies create an environment
    in humanitarian crises free of sexual exploitation, (2) providing basic
    health and psychosocial care to survivors of abuse, and (3) developing
    management and coordination mechanisms to ensure accountability of
    humanitarian agencies.

    We examined several international organizations* remedial actions and
    found that they had made a concerted effort to address the issue of sexual
    exploitation by their staff. For example, after reviewing documents and
    discussing the issue with field staff from UNHCR, the International
    Committee of the Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services, and the
    International Rescue Committee, we found that organizations had

     sent clear statements to staff of their ethical responsibilities toward
    refugees, the need for accountability, and *zero tolerance* of exploitive
    behavior;

     developed or revised codes of conduct to guide the behavior and
    attitudes of staff;

     provided awareness and training workshops for international and national
    staff; and

     polled country staff globally on the potential for situations of sexual
    exploitation and conducted investigations of high- risk environments.

    Our extensive interviews with relief workers, peacekeepers, and refugees
    in the field also indicated a very high awareness concerning the issue of
    abuse of power, the ethical and professional conduct expected of relief
    workers and peacekeepers, and the rights and entitlements of refugees.

    11 The U. N. Inter- Agency Task Force is composed of the following
    members: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance, U. N.
    Development Program, U. N. High Commissioner for Refugees, U. N.
    Children*s Fund, World Food Program, Food and Agriculture Organization,
    World Health Organization, and the U. N. Family Planning Agency. In
    addition, there is a standing invitation to the International Organization
    on Migration,

    International Committee of the Red Cross, U. N. High Commissioner for
    Human Rights, the Representative of the Secretary General on Internally
    Displaced Persons, the World Bank, the International Council of Voluntary
    Agencies, InterAction, and the Steering Committee for Humanitarian
    Response.

    Page 24 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance We also observed that UNHCR
    had mechanisms in place in the camps for refugees to confidentially report
    abuses of power and had trained refugee

    women leaders to monitor for exploitive situations. In Thailand*s Mae La
    refugee camp, for example, we met members of the women*s committee who had
    received UNHCR sexual and gender- based violence training, served as the
    camp*s ** eyes and ears, ** and were actively engaged in managing cases of
    exploitation and domestic and sexual violence. Figure 5 shows a woman from
    the Karen tribe engaged in an income- generation project that supports
    women*s programs in the camp. Income generation and empowerment programs
    make women less vulnerable to exploitation.

    Figure 5: A Karen Women*s Committee Income- Generating Activity, Mae La,
    Thailand, 2003

    A woman weaving cloth to be sold in the camp; proceeds are used to provide
    members with income and to support women*s programming in the camp.

    Despite these efforts by international organizations, abuse of refugees
    continues to be a problem. During our fieldwork in Tanzania and Sierra

    Page 25 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance Leone refugee camps, we met
    with UNHCR and nongovernmental organization officials who were actively
    investigating several new cases of

    sexual exploitation by relief workers. In the Tanzania situation, eight
    nongovernmental organization relief workers and four Tanzanian police
    officers employed under a U. S. government- funded project were fired for
    sexual exploitation of refugee girls or failure to report the
    exploitation. 12 In addition, senior UNHCR officials in Nepal were
    dismissed for tolerating an environment of exploitation among Bhutanese
    refugees by refugee men and Nepalese government officials employed under
    UNHCR- funded projects.

    Moreover, based on our fieldwork, analysis of UNHCR staffing, and review
    of UNHCR*s most recent reports on refugees (2000- 2002), the conditions in
    refugee camps create an ongoing environment in which women and girls

    are vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse of power. First, camps are
    sites of extreme poverty, and women are often reduced to exchanging sex
    for otherwise unavailable food and nonfood items such as clothing, shelter
    materials, and cooking items. According to refugee women with whom we
    spoke, adolescent girls seeking such items as clothes and jewelry are
    particularly susceptible to transactional sex relationships. Second, there
    is limited monitoring of camps because few UNHCR professional staff are

    present, leaving actual day- to- day management of camps to locally hired
    staff or the refugees themselves. Finally, some relief workers and
    refugeeled camp management staff hold cultural attitudes that are
    accepting of sexually exploitative arrangements and thus perpetuate the
    problem.

    Although the issue of sexual exploitation of refugee women and girls by
    relief staff has recently caught the attention of the public and
    international organizations due to the publicity of the West African case,
    the problem is

    long- standing and likely to continue, according to relief and human
    rights experts. In our examination of UNHCR and nongovernmental
    organizations* reports on refugee protection, we found numerous references
    to refugee women being exploited while in camps and recommendations for
    corrective actions (see app. II). However, it is only recently that action
    has been taken. Given this situation, relief and human rights experts,
    including senior UNHCR officials, emphasized the need for a continuing
    high- level focus on preventing exploitation by international
    organizations in such forums as the Inter- Agency Standing Committee and

    12 All State Department funded nongovernmental organizations are required
    to incorporate the Inter- Agency Standing Committee*s six core principles
    into their codes of conduct.

    Page 26 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance UNHCR*s Executive Committee.
    They noted that international relief organizations are moving on to new
    emergencies and priorities and feared that the current attention to
    preventing sexual exploitation will wane

    before it becomes a part of organizations* institutional culture. The U.
    S. government addresses the protection needs of refugees and other
    vulnerable populations primarily by providing funding to international
    organizations mandated to provide protection. In 2002, the Department of
    State*s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration provided UNHCR $265
    million in budget support* nearly 28 percent of the organization*s
    funding. Table 3 shows the amount of funds State contributed to
    international organizations mandated to provide protection.

    Table 3: State Department*s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
    Contributions to UNHCR, United Nations Children*s Fund, and the
    International Committee of the Red Cross, 1998- 2002 Dollars in millions
    Year UNHCR UNICEF ICRC

    1998 $268 $1 $101 1999 293 14 127 2000 261 18 124 2001 243 8 122 2002 265
    11 124 Source: Department of State. Note: The U. S. government*s total
    contribution to UNICEF in 2002 was $110 million, which includes emergency
    and regular budget support.

    The Department of State also provides grants to nongovernmental
    organizations to implement targeted protection activities to augment
    international organizations* protection efforts. In 2002, State provided
    $11.4 million to fund 35 discrete protection- related projects. During our
    fieldwork we observed several of these small grant projects (ranging from
    under $100,000 to $2 million) and found that they focused on protection

    gaps. For example,  In Tanzania, a $1 million grant strengthened the
    government*s capacity to

    maintain the civilian and humanitarian character of the camps in its
    territory. The funding enabled deployment of nearly 280 Tanzanian police
    to the border camps to maintain law and order and prevent and investigate
    crimes, including incidents of sexual and gender- based violence. U. S.
    Government

    Funds International Organizations* Protection Activities

    Page 27 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance  In Sierra Leone, a $630,000
    sexual and gender- based violence prevention and response program provided
    shelter for female- headed households, income- generation and leadership
    training for women and girls, gender

    sensitization training for host communities, and psychosocial counseling,
    medical care, and rehabilitation support to victims of sexual assault.

    USAID is not directly involved in refugee protection programming; however,
    a number of its humanitarian and development assistance activities
    indirectly contribute to protection of refugees and other vulnerable
    persons. USAID*s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance provides non food
    humanitarian assistance, such as shelter, water sanitation, and food
    security, to persons caught up in crisis situations. The Office of Foreign
    Disaster Assistance has also provided funding to transport civilians
    facing imminent threat of physical attack from insecure areas. USAID*s
    Office of Transition Initiatives also indirectly contributes to protection
    by assisting countries in their transition from post- conflict situations
    to democracy. In countries such as Macedonia and Angola, project staff
    have worked with government leaders and populations to strengthen
    awareness of and respect for human rights, advocated for a stronger role
    for women in peace and reconciliation issues, and assisted ex- child
    soldiers in their reintegration into society.

    Apart from providing funding, the Department of State historically has
    played an active role advocating within the international community for
    increased attention and programmatic response to the plight of refugees
    and other vulnerable populations. According to relief experts and European
    government aid representatives, State*s Bureau of Population, Refugees,
    and Migration is unique among donors in the number of staff resources
    devoted to managing refugee and humanitarian programs. In addition to
    approximately 80 Washington- based staff, the bureau has 5 refugee
    officers serving in liaison roles with international organizations in
    Geneva and Brussels, and another 19 overseas- based officers monitoring
    refugee situations. According to U. N. and relief officials with whom we
    spoke, the U. S. government is active in assessing humanitarian needs in
    the field and promoting an international response to them. A 2002 Overseas
    Development Institute report characterized U. S. government U. S.
    Government Also

    Advocates Strong International Response

    Page 28 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance staff as playing the role of
    pushing and prodding UNHCR and its operational partners in their
    programmatic responses. 13 We reviewed U. S. government policy positions
    and statements concerning protection of refugees and other vulnerable
    persons since 1998 and found

    that the U. S. government has consistently pushed for a strong
    international response. For example, in early 2000, the U. S.
    Representative to the United Nations strongly criticized the international
    community for its failure to address the needs of internally displaced
    persons. More recently the U. S. government has argued for renewed support
    to UNHCR from the

    European Commission and its member states, whose recent cuts in funding
    contributed to UNHCR*s budget crisis. As a member of UNHCR*s governing
    body (known as the Executive Committee), the U. S. government has
    consistently called for increased and better response to refugee
    protection needs. Over the last several annual meetings, the U. S.
    government has

     encouraged UNHCR to ensure that protection is prioritized as its core
    function;

     pressed for continuous focus on the prevention of sexual exploitation;
    criticized staffing decisions by UNHCR management to cut posts in Africa;

    and  called for an operations plan for the protection of women that would

    identify benchmarks to measure progress, create a monitoring plan, and
    establish a timetable for implementation of specific protection- related
    actions.

    While international organizations have taken a number of steps in recent
    years to improve the protection situation of refugee women and girls, this
    population remains extremely vulnerable to sexual violence. Among the
    factors undermining the international community*s efforts are the
    difficulty of protecting refugees caught up in conflict zones and
    recurring budgetary shortfalls caused by donors not fulfilling funding
    pledges.

    However, UNHCR*s weak management of its workforce planning and 13 Overseas
    Development Institute, The *bilateralization* of humanitarian response:
    trends in the financial, contractual and managerial environment of
    official humanitarian aid (London, U. K.: Oct. 2002). Conclusions

    Page 29 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance staffing system also
    significantly hinders protection of women and girls. A strategic workforce
    process that emphasizes a performance- and goaloriented

    approach to human resource management could link the organization*s
    mission and goals to its workforce staffing. There are insufficient
    numbers of protection staff in many high- risk countries, and UNHCR*s
    assignment policy has resulted in extended vacancies at key protection
    posts. Furthermore, international relief workers who implement assistance
    programs and have daily contact with refugees have not received
    protection- related training, and many were unfamiliar with

    UNHCR*s guidelines on the protection of women and children. Despite this,
    UNHCR*s implementing partners and other international organizations have
    significant resources and capabilities that provide opportunities for
    partnering arrangements to fill protection gaps. In response to
    allegations reported at the end of 2001 of sexual abuse and exploitation
    of refugee women and girls by relief workers and peacekeepers, the United
    Nations and international organizations adopted codes of conduct stressing
    zero tolerance for such behavior and

    implemented training programs on gender- based violence for all national
    and international staff. In the four countries we visited, we found that
    relief workers and peacekeepers were acutely aware of the professional
    conduct expected of them, and refugees had access to mechanisms to report
    any new problems of sexual exploitation. Nonetheless, during our fieldwork
    we observed several new allegations of sexual misconduct by relief
    workers. High- level management must continue to focus on the issue of
    exploitation because extreme poverty in camps, limited monitoring by
    relief workers, and cultural attitudes of some camp staff continue to put
    women and girl refugees at risk.

    To strengthen the international response to the protection needs of
    refugees, especially women and girls, we recommend that the Secretary of
    State work with member states to fundamentally reform UNHCR*s staffing
    system so that it can more effectively fulfill its core protection
    mandate. Measures to accomplish this could include:

     creating a strategic workforce plan that systematically determines
    priority staff positions worldwide, based on the relative protection needs
    of refugees and realistic assumptions of available resources; and

     developing a staff assignment and rotation system that ensures difficult
    and chronically vacant duty stations are filled with employees with the
    requisite skills and experience, especially in Africa. Recommendations for

    Executive Action

    Page 30 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance We also recommend that the
    Secretary of State work with other U. N. member states to

     expand training opportunities so that international and nongovernmental
    staff in positions of contact with refugee populations are fully versed in
    protection policies and practical protection techniques;  encourage the
    development of protection partnering arrangements

    between and among U. N. agencies and nongovernmental organizations to
    better utilize and leverage program and staff resources currently
    operating with vulnerable populations; and

     ensure continued focus on efforts to prevent sexual exploitation of
    refugee women and girls by making the issue of exploitation an annual
    agenda item at refugee policy forums, including the U. N. *s Inter- Agency
    Standing Committee and UNHCR*s Executive Committee meetings.

    State and UNHCR provided written comments on a draft of this report and we
    revised the report where it was necessary. (See app. III and IV for a
    reprint of State*s and UNHCR*s comments.) State endorsed the intent behind
    the report to improve the protection of refugee women and girls and said
    it would exercise its best efforts to implement the report*s
    recommendations. State noted that a strategic workforce plan is key to
    developing a stronger, more flexible workforce that meets UNHCR*s
    strategic needs. State also said it is essential that nongovernmental
    organizations receive training on protection issues as they are on the
    front lines and serve as protection *eyes and ears.* In this regard, State
    plans to promote a more disciplined application of training in fiscal
    years 2004 and 2005.

    UNHCR disagreed with our recommendation to fundamentally reform its
    staffing system, stating that it already has processes for allocating
    staff resources and that we did not take into account UNHCR*s full range
    of responsibilities. UNHCR believes that improved instruments and capacity
    for placing staff and managing vacancies, along with more predictable
    donor support for established priorities, are sufficient elements for
    success. UNHCR did not indicate its position with regard to our three
    other recommendations expanding protection training programs, developing
    protection partnering arrangements, and maintaining international
    organizations* focus on combating sexual exploitation of refugee women and
    girls. It did, however, describe activities in which it is Agency Comments
    and Our Evaluation

    Page 31 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance engaged pertaining to each
    recommendation. Where appropriate we provided some of this information in
    the report.

    Regarding our recommendation on staffing, we do not dispute UNHCR*s
    assertion that its mandate is not limited to the physical protection of
    refugees and that it has many responsibilities, including status
    determination and finding durable solutions for refugees. Our report
    demonstrates the inadequacies of physical protection for refugees and the
    lack of an overall strategic workforce plan that incorporates risk to
    refugees. We used the World Bank*s database for measuring risk because it
    is an authoritative source of political stability and violence
    measurements across 160 countries in the absence of any such analysis by
    UNHCR. The problems associated with UNHCR*s staffing system have long been
    documented in Executive Committee and public and internal UNHCR reports,
    including The State of UNHCR*s Staff (December 2000) and In the Service of
    Refugees: A Review of UNHCR*s Policy and Practice on Rotations (October
    2001), and provide ample evidence of a staffing system failing to place
    the necessary number of people, with the requisite skills,

    where they are needed most. UNHCR may disagree with our use of the term **
    fundamental** when describing the reforms, but we have observed that half-
    steps or partial measures will not solve its staffing problems. According
    to the reports mentioned above, previous attempts at improving separate
    aspects of the staffing system have not achieved the desired results. At a
    minimum, UNHCR needs to create a strategic workforce plan that links the
    organization*s objectives, resources, and staffing and

    systematically incorporates the physical protection of refugees. It also
    needs to devise a staff assignment and rotation system that fills vacant
    posts in high- risk countries, especially in Africa.

    Regarding our recommendation to expand training opportunities, UNHCR
    stated that the report does not adequately reflect UNHCR*s existing
    protection training programs and activities and provided detailed
    information on its training activities, including the Protection Learning
    Program. During the course of our evaluation, we reviewed a large number
    of protection training courses, modules, and materials and spoke with
    staff who participated in the various training programs, including the
    Protection Learning Program. By all accounts the protection training
    programs and materials are very useful in transmitting protection concepts
    and practical techniques to staff. (However, we were told that the 4 month
    and 10 month Protection Learning Programs are too time intensive for

    field staff.) Nevertheless, when meeting with UNHCR and nongovernmental
    organization staff at the camp level in each of our four case study
    countries, we found that a large majority of staff had received

    Page 32 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance no training on protection
    matters. This and our overall analysis of international organizations*
    training led to our recommendation to expand protection training.

    UNHCR stated that our report does not reflect the extensive partnering
    arrangements in which it has engaged for decades and that it would welcome
    more extensive involvement with other agencies on the provision of
    services. It provided an outline of partnering arrangements between UNHCR
    and other U. N. agencies. When we examined UNHCR*s list of arrangements
    and recent developments, we noted that they mainly involve high- level
    meetings to coordinate assistance activities. Our recommendation, however,
    is aimed at increasing the role of international and nongovernmental
    organizations in the protection of refugees. International organizations*
    daily interaction with refugee populations and their organizational
    capacity could be better utilized and leveraged to

    enhance refugee protection. Regarding our recommendation on maintaining
    international organizations* focus on combating sexual exploitation, UNHCR
    made no comment on the substance of the recommendation but provided
    additional information on activities it has taken over the last 20 months.
    However, under Part B of its response, UNHCR stated that our summary of
    the U. N. *s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) report was not
    an accurate reflection of the investigation*s conclusion. UNHCR referred
    to the report*s conclusion at paragraph 42 as a more accurate
    representation of the report and noted further that no allegations against
    any U. N. staff

    member could be substantiated. Our statement characterizing the OIOS
    report was taken from the fifth paragraph of the Executive Summary the
    first substantive discussion of the report*s findings, which states that
    *although the stories reported by the consultants could not be verified,
    the problem of sexual exploitation of refugees is real.* We further note
    that 12 of the 17 recommendations in the OIOS report are directed to
    UNHCR. We are concerned that the principal message UNHCR has drawn from
    the

    OIOS report is that UNHCR staff are exonerated from wrongdoing. Our
    perspective, however, is that although U. N. staff members were exonerated
    from wrongdoing, the problem of sexual exploitation of refugees is
    significant.

    UNHCR also provided a number of technical comments, which we incorporated
    as appropriate.

    Page 33 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian Assistance We are sending copies of this
    report to interested congressional committees, the Secretary of State, the
    Administrator of the U. S. Agency

    for International Development, the U. N. Secretary General, and the U. N.
    High Commissioner for Refugees. We will also make copies available to
    other parties upon request. In addition, this report will be made
    available at no charge on the GAO Web site at http:// www. gao. gov.

    If you or your staff have any questions concerning this report, please
    contact me at (202) 512- 3149 or at gootnickd@ gao. gov. Other GAO
    contacts and staff acknowledgments are listed in appendix V.

    Sincerely yours, David Gootnick Director, International Affairs and Trade

    Appendix I: Scope and Methodology Page 34 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian
    Assistance To assess the gaps and weaknesses in the current international
    system of protection of refugees and vulnerable persons, as well as the
    actions the

    U. N. and international organizations have taken in response to recent
    reports of relief workers* and peacekeepers* sexual exploitation of
    refugee women and girls, we interviewed officials and analyzed policy,
    program, and budgetary documents from the U. N. High Commissioner for
    Refugees (UNHCR), the U. N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the U.
    N.

    Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the U. N. High
    Commissioner for Human Rights, and the U. N. Children*s Fund. In our work
    with UNHCR, we met with officials from 19 different offices and examined
    extensive staffing data including vacancies, duty station categories, and
    worldwide distribution of staff* and reviewed UNHCR staffing policies. We
    also met with officials and reviewed reports pertaining to humanitarian
    and refugee issues from numerous nongovernmental organizations and think
    tanks, including the International Rescue Committee, the United States
    Committee for Refugees, Refugees International, and InterAction.

    To assess the steps the U. S. government takes to protect refugees and
    other vulnerable persons, we interviewed officials and analyzed policy,
    program, and budgetary documents from the Department of State*s Bureau of
    Population, Refugees, and Migration; the Bureau for International
    Organizations; and the U. S. Missions to the United Nations in New York
    City and Geneva, Switzerland. When examining State*s small grants program,
    we included only those projects that directly dealt with protection
    matters, such as conflict prevention and reconciliation, psychosocial
    assistance, sexual and gender- based violence prevention, and
    transportation of vulnerable populations. We also met with officials and
    analyzed program documents from the U. S. Agency for International
    Development*s Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Affairs,
    including the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and the Office of
    Transition Initiatives; and the Bureau for Global Programs.

    We also performed fieldwork in our case study countries of the Democratic
    Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Thailand to assess the
    protection mechanisms in place for refugees and other vulnerable persons
    in refugee camps and their surrounding areas within those countries. These
    four nations face protracted refugee crises in which refugees and other
    vulnerable populations are under imminent threat of physical and sexual
    violence by warring parties, local communities, and other refugees, and
    were recommended as representative case study countries by State and think
    tank officials. In these countries, we observed first- hand the protection
    programs and activities conducted by U. N. Appendix I: Scope and
    Methodology

    Appendix I: Scope and Methodology Page 35 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian
    Assistance organizations, peacekeeping units, the Red Cross Movement,
    nongovernmental organizations, and the U. S. government. We also

    conducted numerous interviews with refugee- led camp management groups and
    individual women and girls to discuss the protection situation in the
    camps, as well as the mechanisms in place to report and address incidents
    of sexual and gender violence and exploitation.

    Finally, we conducted an analysis of 22 UNHCR and nongovernmental
    organizations* evaluations and reports issued since 1990 to document the
    reported gaps in and recommendations to strengthen the international
    community*s system of refugee protection. We also conducted a detailed
    analysis of the mandates and capabilities of the 13 current peacekeeping
    missions managed by the U. N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

    We performed our review from August 2002 through May 2003 in accordance
    with generally accepted government auditing standards.

    Appendix II: Catalogue of Refugee Protection Reports Page 36 GAO- 03- 663
    Humanitarian Assistance We examined 22 reports published since 1990 by
    UNHCR and nongovernmental organizations that addressed problems related to

    refugee protection. We focused on whether the report cited physical
    violence, sexual abuse, or exploitation of refugee women and girls. Each
    column heading denotes the year that the report was published. We then

    identified eight discrete protection concerns that were commonly discussed
    in the reports and listed them in the left column. Finally, we analyzed
    the reports to determine whether a protection gap was identified or a
    recommendation was made to address the specific protection

    concern. Appendix II: Catalogue of Refugee Protection

    Reports

    Appendix II: Catalogue of Refugee Protection Reports Page 37 GAO- 03- 663
    Humanitarian Assistance [This page is intentionally left blank]

    Appendix II: Catalogue of Refugee Protection Reports Page 38 GAO- 03- 663
    Humanitarian Assistance

    Appendix II: Catalogue of Refugee Protection Reports Page 39 GAO- 03- 663
    Humanitarian Assistance

    Appendix II: Catalogue of Refugee Protection Reports Page 40 GAO- 03- 663
    Humanitarian Assistance United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
    Note on Refugee Women and International Protection, Department of
    International

    Protection, EC/ SCP/ 59, August 28, 1990. [Scope: UNHCR] Executive
    Committee of the High Commissioner*s Program, Forty- first session, UNHCR
    Policy on Refugee Women, A/ AC. 96/ 754, August 20, 1990. [Scope: UNHCR]

    United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Refugee and Displaced Women
    and Children, Economic and Social Council Resolutions, E/ RES/ 1991/ 23,
    May 30, 1991. [Scope: The International Community] United Nations High
    Commissioner for Refugees, Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women,
    July 1991. [Scope: UNHCR]

    United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Progress Report on
    Implementation of the UNHCR Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women,
    Department of International Protection, EC/ SCP/ 74, July 22, 1992.
    [Scope: UNHCR]

    United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, The Personal Security of
    Refugees, Department of International Protection, EC/ 1993/ SCP/ CRP. 3,
    May 5, 1993. [Scope: UNHCR] United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
    Refugee Protection and Sexual Violence, Executive Committee Conclusions,
    No. 73 (XLIV) * 1993, October 8, 1993. [Scope: The United Nations]

    United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Report of the Working Group
    on Refugee Women and Children, Department of International Protection, EC/
    SCP/ 85, June 29, 1994. [Scope: UNHCR] United Nations High Commissioner
    for Refugees, A Review of UNHCR*s Women Victims of Violence Project in
    Kenya, Inspection and Evaluation Service, March, 1996, and UNCHR*s Women
    Victims of Violence Project in Kenya: An Evaluation Summary, Department of
    Administrative and Financial Matters, EC/ 1995/ SC. 2/ CRP. 22, June 8,
    1995. [Scope: UNHCR

    and Partner NGOs] United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Refugee
    Camp Security in the Great Lakes Region, Inspection and Evaluation
    Service, EVAL/ 01/ 97, April 1997. [Scope: UNHCR and Partner NGOs]

    Bibliography

    Appendix II: Catalogue of Refugee Protection Reports Page 41 GAO- 03- 663
    Humanitarian Assistance United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
    Progress Report on Refugee Women and UNHCR*s Framework for Implementation
    of the

    Beijing Platform for Action, Standing Committee, EC/ 47/ SC/ CRP. 45,
    August 15, 1997. [Scope: UNHCR]

    United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, A Survey of Compliance With
    UNHCR*s Policies on Refugee Women, Children, and the Environment,
    Evaluation and Policy Analysis Section, EPAS/ 99/ 01, March 1999. [Scope:
    UNHCR]

    Machel, Grac,a, The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children: A Critical
    Review of Progress Made and Obstacles Encountered in Increasing Protection
    for War- Affected Children. This paper is a product of the International
    Conference on War- Affected Children, Winnipeg, Canada, September 2000.
    [Scope: The International Community]

    United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, A Beneficiary- Based
    Evaluation of UNHCR*s Program in Guinea, West Africa, Evaluation and
    Policy Analysis Unit, EPAU/ 2001/ 02, January 2001. [UNHCR and Partner
    NGOs]

    United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Evaluation of the Dadaab
    Firewood Project, Kenya, Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit, EPAU/ 2001/
    08, June 2001. [Scope: UNHCR and Partner NGOs]

    United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Meeting the Rights and
    Protection Needs of Refugee Children: An Independent Evaluation of the
    Impact of UNHCR*s Activities, Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit, EPAU/
    2002/ 02- ES, May 2002. [Scope: UNHCR]

    Women*s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, UNHCR Policy on Refugee
    Women and Guidelines on Their Protection: An Assessment of Ten Years of
    Implementation, May 2002. [Scope: UNHCR, NGO Partners] American Council
    for Voluntary International Action (InterAction), Report of the
    InterAction Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation of
    Displaced Children, June 2002. [Scope: The International Community]

    United Nations General Assembly, Executive Committee of the High
    Commissioner*s Program, Fifty- third Session, Agenda For Protection,

    Appendix II: Catalogue of Refugee Protection Reports Page 42 GAO- 03- 663
    Humanitarian Assistance Addendum, A/ AC. 96/ 965/ Add. 1, June 26, 2002.
    [The International Community]

    Report of the Inter- Agency Standing Committee Task Force on Protection
    From Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Humanitarian Crises, June 2002.
    [Scope: UN Agencies and Partner NGOs]

    United Nations General Assembly, Fifty- seventh Session, Agenda Item 122,
    Report of the Secretary- General on the Activities of the Office of
    Internal Oversight Services, Investigation Into Sexual Exploitation of
    Refugees by Aid Workers in West Africa, A/ 57/ 465, October 11, 2002.
    [Scope: UNHCR and Partner NGOs] United Nations High Commissioner for
    Refugees, Implementation of the

    Five Commitments to Refugee Women, 2002. [Scope: UNHCR, Host States, NGO
    Partners]

    Appendix III: Comments from Department of State Page 43 GAO- 03- 663
    Humanitarian Assistance Appendix III: Comments from Department of State

    Appendix III: Comments from Department of State Page 44 GAO- 03- 663
    Humanitarian Assistance

    Appendix III: Comments from Department of State Page 45 GAO- 03- 663
    Humanitarian Assistance

    Appendix IV: Comments from UNHCR Page 46 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian
    Assistance Appendix IV: Comments from UNHCR

    Appendix IV: Comments from UNHCR Page 47 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian
    Assistance

    Appendix IV: Comments from UNHCR Page 48 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian
    Assistance

    Appendix IV: Comments from UNHCR Page 49 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian
    Assistance

    Appendix IV: Comments from UNHCR Page 50 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian
    Assistance

    Appendix IV: Comments from UNHCR Page 51 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian
    Assistance

    Appendix IV: Comments from UNHCR Page 52 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian
    Assistance

    Appendix IV: Comments from UNHCR Page 53 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian
    Assistance

    Appendix IV: Comments from UNHCR Page 54 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian
    Assistance

    Appendix IV: Comments from UNHCR Page 55 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian
    Assistance

    Appendix IV: Comments from UNHCR Page 56 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian
    Assistance

    Appendix IV: Comments from UNHCR Page 57 GAO- 03- 663 Humanitarian
    Assistance

    Appendix V: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments Page 58 GAO- 03- 663
    Humanitarian Assistance David B. Gootnick (202) 512- 3149 Tetsuo Miyabara
    (202) 512- 8974 In addition to those named above, Janey Cohen, Jonathan
    Weiss, Christina Werth, Richard Seldin, and Patrick Dickriede made key
    contributions to this report. Appendix V: GAO Contacts and Staff

    Acknowledgments GAO Contacts Acknowledgments

    (32014 (320141)

    The General Accounting Office, the audit, evaluation and investigative arm
    of Congress, exists to support Congress in meeting its constitutional
    responsibilities and to help improve the performance and accountability of
    the federal government for the American people. GAO examines the use of
    public funds; evaluates federal programs and policies; and provides
    analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help Congress make
    informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. GAO*s commitment to
    good government is reflected in its core values of accountability,
    integrity, and reliability.

    The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies of GAO documents at no cost
    is through the Internet. GAO*s Web site (www. gao. gov) contains abstracts
    and fulltext files of current reports and testimony and an expanding
    archive of older products. The Web site features a search engine to help
    you locate documents using key words and phrases. You can print these
    documents in their entirety, including charts and other graphics.

    Each day, GAO issues a list of newly released reports, testimony, and
    correspondence. GAO posts this list, known as *Today*s Reports,* on its
    Web site daily. The list contains links to the full- text document files.
    To have GAO e- mail

    this list to you every afternoon, go to www. gao. gov and select
    *Subscribe to daily E- mail alert for newly released products* under the
    GAO Reports heading.

    The first copy of each printed report is free. Additional copies are $2
    each. A check or money order should be made out to the Superintendent of
    Documents. GAO also accepts VISA and Mastercard. Orders for 100 or more
    copies mailed to a single address are discounted 25 percent. Orders should
    be sent to: U. S. General Accounting Office 441 G Street NW, Room LM
    Washington, D. C. 20548 To order by Phone: Voice: (202) 512- 6000

    TDD: (202) 512- 2537 Fax: (202) 512- 6061

    Contact: Web site: www. gao. gov/ fraudnet/ fraudnet. htm E- mail:
    fraudnet@ gao. gov Automated answering system: (800) 424- 5454 or (202)
    512- 7470 Jeff Nelligan, Managing Director, NelliganJ@ gao. gov (202) 512-
    4800

    U. S. General Accounting Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7149 Washington, D.
    C. 20548 GAO*s Mission Obtaining Copies of

    GAO Reports and Testimony

    Order by Mail or Phone To Report Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Federal
    Programs Public Affairs
    *** End of document. ***