VII.
OTHER GROUPS
OR PERSONS
OF CONCERN
As a humanitarian agency, UNHCR often provides
protection and/or assistance to certain
population categories that it considers to be
‘of concern’ but which do not fall into any
of the other population categories.
T
he activities undertaken for such groups by
UNHCR are based exclusively on humanitarian grounds. Typical examples of such groups
include former refugees in need of assistance to be
locally integrated or rejected asylum-seekers whom
UNHCR has determined are in need of humanitarian assistance. In addition, host populations who are
directly or indirectly affected by an influx of displaced
people may fall under this category.
By the end of 2015, 870,700 individuals had been
reported as other groups or persons of concern,
compared to 1.1 million a year earlier. This includes
180,000 Ugandan nationals who reside in refugeehosting communities benefiting from UNHCRassisted programmes such as education, health,
water, and sanitation. In addition, some 162,300 individuals are former Burundian refugees who have
naturalized and reside in Tanzania; overall, Tanzania
reported 168,600 people considered ‘others of concern’ at the end of 2015. Some 150,300 ‘others of concern’ were Afghans, made up of former refugees who
have returned home but continue to have protection
and economic needs similar to refugees.
In order to ensure their reintegration into their society – often in the face of difficult economic situations,
lack of comprehensive reintegration measures, or
continuing poor security – UNHCR provides additional support to the most vulnerable parts of these populations. People in the three groups detailed above
constitute 57 per cent of the other groups or persons
of concern to UNHCR.
Data on other populations of other groups or populations of concern were reported by 47 UNHCR
offices in 2015. ●
UNHCR Global Trends 2015 49