June 4, 2013

 As the Syrian refugee emergency continues to escalate, with the 1 million mark reached in March, UNHCR has initiated a real-time evaluation of its response, focusing particularly on those countries receiving the largest numbers of refugees.

The primary purpose of this review is to measure the impact of UNHCR‘s response and use findings  to immediately support its operations in Jordan, Lebanon and northern Iraq to respond to the mounting refugee crisis generated by the armed conflict in Syria. The evaluation will focus on the situation of refugees themselves, identifying those protection and assistance gaps that must be addressed most urgently, explaining why those gaps have occurred and making recommendations for the way in which they could be filled.

The evaluation will run until the 6th of June and will be led by a team of independent experts, including Ed Schenkenberg, Chief Executive of DARA, as NGO representative.