NORTH AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN improvements in the reception and processing of vulnerable people at ports of entry. In the Caribbean, UNHCR worked to ensure access to territory and asylum procedures; accession to the Statelessness Conventions by Haiti; the adoption of regulations implementing refugee and migration laws; and the reactivation of eligibility committees. It also sought to ensure the registration of people of concern and the provision of self-reliance and livelihood activities for them. Other priorities were the prevention and reduction of statelessness, including through documentation; measures to combat SGBV; the protection of SGBV survivors and the search for durable solutions for them; as well as the provision of services for groups with specific needs, including women and children. Financial information In the United States, funding constraints made it difficult for UNHCR to monitor the expedited removal procedures implemented at the borders and within the country. This remains a critical issue, given that the non-implementation of protection safeguards could result in . UNHCR’s ability to monitor Canada’s asylum system, a role set out in the national legislation, was also limited by resource constraints, as the Office’s presence in the country has been reduced over the last few years. pledges at the ministerial-level meeting in December 2011 to address these gaps. , UNHCR worked with national and regional In authorities to ensure that asylum-seekers were allowed into the country and had access to its RSD procedures. UNHCR also worked with relevant government agencies to assist with reforms prompted by the new legislation, including the drafting of implementing regulations and the creation of an appeal-on-merit procedure for those persons found not to be refugees by the Immigration Review Board. UNHCR staff undertook missions to air, land and sea ports of entry to provide training and information sessions, and monitor compliance with Canadian refugee protection systems and international refugee instruments. Areas of particular focus were the search for alternatives to detention and In the Caribbean, UNHCR was unable to monitor the key countries which fall under the purview of the Regional Office and influence their policies and practices in areas such as interdiction and rescue-at-sea, RSD, detention and alternatives to detention. Furthermore, the lack of resources meant UNHCR could not ensure that protection safeguards were in place in the countries receiving large numbers of people arriving by sea. Voluntary contributions to North America and the Caribbean | USD Earmarking / Donor PILLAR 2 PILLAR 4 Stateless programme IDP projects All pillars Total UNITED STATES OF AMERICA REGIONAL OFFICE Brazil European Union 653,257 100,000 745,280 1,398,537 Japan Association for UNHCR 1,854 1,854 Private donors in Argentina 13,617 13,617 36,503 36,503 Private donors in Switzerland Private donors in the United Kingdom Spain United States of America 396 396 1,373,626 1,373,626 100,000 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 336 100,000 400,000 100,000 1,300,000 1,700,000 United States of America Regional Office subtotal 1,053,257 2,371,276 1,300,000 4,724,534 Total 1,053,257 2,371,276 1,300,000 4,724,534 UNHCR Global Report 2011