enhance equal access to AAP for forcibly displaced
and stateless persons of different ages, genders,
and backgrounds, through enhanced community
outreach and engagement. It is in this context, that the
MENA AAP Toolkit (the “Toolkit”) advances UNHCR’s
commitments to AAP with contextualized guidance
to UNHCR country operations and partners in the
MENA region and Türkiye and addresses key AAP
challenges identified by UNHCR’s Approach to AAP
– a Synthesis of Evaluative Evidence. Importantly, the
Toolkit introduces digital participatory interventions and
Two-Way communication tools to reach all population
groups, particularly those with specific needs.
provided to six projects in five countries to strengthen
localization through partnership across sectors,
including education, child protection, and gender-based
violence to people with diverse SOGIESC6 and people
with disabilities.
To further advance its work on AAP, in 2021, the RB
MENA established the internal Mena AAP Reference
Group, with representation from the RB and country
operations in the MENA region, to guide and support
the development of the Toolkit. The Reference Group
supported the facilitation of the MENA AAP Summer
Learning Series for staff, partners, and communitybased organizations. With the PROSPECTS Partnership,
the RB MENA begun to roll out the MENA AAP Grants
for community and grassroots organizations, including
refugee and women-led organizations. The MENA RB
The MENA AAP Toolkit is a key outcome of the efforts
of the RB MENA, the MENA AAP Reference Group, and
UNHCR, partners, and communities in the MENA region.
The Toolkit is a living document intended to facilitate
access to practical and contextualized tools for the
establishment and implementation of AAP mechanisms
by UNHCR and partners across the MENA region. The RB
MENA and the MENA AAP Reference Group will support
the dissemination, implementation, monitoring and
updating of the Toolkit through regular learning sessions
and ongoing technical support.
In 2022, UNHCR and partners continued to make
progress on the development and implementation of
AAP strategies and interventions in the MENA region,
with renewed focus on enhancing effective, equal, and
inclusive access to digital and face-to-face AAP tools,
improving consolidated AAP analysis, and increasing
participation of youth and people with specific needs.
1.2 Toolkit Overview
UNHCR’s AAP approach is based on four AAP Core
Actions: Participation and Inclusion; Communication
and Transparency; Feedback and Response; and
Organizational Learning and Adaptation. All regional
country, and other resources included in this Toolkit
correspond to these Core Actions, as the minimum
framework required to achieve accountability to forcibly
displaced and stateless people within an AGD approach.
1.3 Toolkit Chapters
The chapters of this Toolkit include 26 tools developed
and tested in the MENA region to contextualize global
AAP guidance. Each chapter introduces a main tool,
sub-tools and annexes to support implementation of
the main tool. UNHCR and partners across the MENA
region and beyond can use the tools and sub-tools – or
be inspired by them – to develop their own, and adapt7
to their specific operational contexts. Chapter 6 contains
additional 54 AAP resources as well as guidance
produced outside the MENA region by UNHCR and
partners.
It is important to note that no single AAP tool can meet
all the needs of different population groups, particularly
in constantly changing and dynamic displacement
settings. The resources included in this Toolkit are
therefore considered most effective when used in a
complementary manner.
6
UNHCR master glossary of terms: SOGIESC: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression and/or Sex Characteristics.
7
Fourteen projects in eight countries from 2021-2023. This in total, but in 2021 ony 6.