Call for EOIs: Protection and Community Mechanisms for Displaced Persons (Congo DR)

Deadline: 30-Sep-2026

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is inviting national and international NGOs to submit concept notes for projects aimed at strengthening protection monitoring, prevention, and response for forcibly displaced persons and at-risk populations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The partnership opportunity responds to the country’s complex displacement and protection crisis, driven by armed conflict, intercommunal violence, and recurring forced displacement. The programme seeks to reinforce protection systems, improve access to rights and essential services, strengthen monitoring and response mechanisms, and support affected communities through inclusive and accountable protection approaches.

About the UNHCR DRC Protection Programme

The Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to experience a large-scale displacement crisis involving internally displaced persons, refugees, and returnees. The protection environment is affected by challenges including: - Limited access to registration. - Gaps in civil documentation. - Lack of legal identity. - Risks of statelessness. - Gender-based violence. - Grave violations affecting children. - Partial coverage of protection monitoring. - Limited access to justice and legal assistance. - Protection risks affecting forcibly displaced and at-risk populations. UNHCR’s strategy for 2027–2030 adopts a differentiated approach to these challenges. In conflict-affected areas, the strategy emphasizes maintaining strong operational protection capacity. In more stable areas, the focus progressively shifts toward strengthening national, provincial, and community systems that can support inclusion and durable solutions. Strategic Goal for 2030 The strategic impact sought by 2030 is that forcibly displaced persons, people at risk of statelessness, and host communities benefit from stronger protection systems and improved access to rights. This includes access to asylum and other rights in accordance with international human rights and refugee law. The approach combines operational protection capacity in areas affected by conflict with longer-term institutional and community-level strengthening in more stable settings. Key Protection Outcomes The programme identifies several important outcomes that organizations should address through their proposed interventions.

These include:

- Systematic registration of displaced and stateless persons. - Improved access to legal and civil documentation. - Prevention of statelessness. - Quality survivor-centered gender-based violence services. - Greater participation of affected communities in protection activities. - Meaningful participation of women and girls in decision-making. - Inclusive and accountable community protection mechanisms. - Gender-sensitive approaches to protection. Protection Monitoring and Analysis Protection monitoring is a central component of the partnership opportunity. Projects should contribute to strengthening the identification, analysis, and reporting of protection concerns affecting displaced and at-risk populations. Improved protection monitoring can help organizations and authorities better understand emerging risks and support appropriate prevention and response measures. Protection monitoring and analysis should be integrated across relevant programme outputs rather than treated as an isolated activity. Registration and Legal Identity Individual registration and legal identity are important protection priorities. People affected by displacement may face barriers to obtaining official documentation and accessing systems that recognize their legal identity. Projects can contribute to stronger registration and documentation mechanisms, helping displaced and stateless persons access rights and services.

The programme specifically prioritizes:

- Individual registration. - Civil status documentation. - Legal documentation. - Legal identity. - Prevention of statelessness. Prevention of Statelessness Preventing statelessness is another important component of the programme. Organizations should support approaches that identify individuals at risk of statelessness and strengthen access to appropriate civil documentation and nationality-related systems. Identification and referral of people at risk should be integrated into relevant protection activities. Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response The programme prioritizes specialized services for gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response. A key expected outcome is improved access to quality survivor-centered GBV services. Projects should incorporate approaches that prioritize the safety, dignity, needs, and rights of survivors. Gender-sensitive protection mechanisms should also ensure that women and girls can participate meaningfully in protection activities and decision-making. Child Protection Child protection is identified as a key operational priority. The programme responds to grave violations affecting children and seeks to strengthen child protection systems and community protection mechanisms. Projects should integrate child protection across relevant outputs and strengthen the capacity of authorities and community protection actors to identify and respond to risks affecting children. Access to Justice and Legal Assistance Access to justice and legal assistance are important components of the programme. Organizations can contribute to strengthening mechanisms that help forcibly displaced and at-risk people understand and exercise their rights. Legal assistance and access to justice should be integrated into broader protection systems and referral mechanisms. Alert and Referral Mechanisms Effective alert and referral mechanisms are essential for identifying people facing heightened protection risks and connecting them with appropriate services. The programme therefore prioritizes strengthening: - Alert mechanisms. - Referral systems. - Identification of at-risk individuals. - Commu