Call for Legal Assistance and Justice Support Programme (Mozambique)

Deadline: 25-Sep-2026

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) invites experienced NGOs, civil society organizations, and academic institutions to support legal protection and access to justice for refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and returnees in Mozambique. The initiative is part of the Protection and Solutions Programme in Mozambique and seeks to strengthen access to legal assistance, justice, documentation, remedies, and protection mechanisms across multiple provinces. The programme is grounded in UNHCR Mozambique’s Results Framework and promotes equitable access to legal protection for all persons of concern, regardless of age, gender, or diversity.

About the UNHCR Mozambique Legal Protection Programme

The programme aims to strengthen legal protection systems for people affected by displacement, statelessness, and other protection challenges. It supports refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons, IDPs, and returnees by improving access to legal services and helping affected individuals understand and exercise their rights. Key areas of intervention include legal aid, legal awareness, documentation support, detention and prison monitoring, advocacy, and engagement with government authorities and justice institutions. Key Objectives of the Programme

The programme seeks to:

- Strengthen legal protection for persons of concern - Improve equitable access to justice - Expand access to legal assistance - Increase awareness of legal rights and available services - Support access to documentation and legal identity - Strengthen protection mechanisms and remedies - Support asylum and nationality procedures - Address risks of statelessness - Monitor detention and prison conditions - Strengthen community-based legal information - Address Housing, Land and Property rights - Support durable solutions for displaced populations - Strengthen cooperation with government and justice institutions Who Can Partner with UNHCR Mozambique?

UNHCR is seeking experienced:

- NGOs - Civil society organizations - Academic institutions Potential partners should have relevant expertise in legal protection, legal aid, access to justice, documentation, displacement, statelessness, or related areas. Partners are expected to contribute to the broader Protection and Solutions Programme and adhere to UNHCR’s sector standards. Legal Aid and Assistance Legal aid is a central component of the programme. Partners may provide legal assistance to refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons, IDPs, and returnees who require support to understand or exercise their rights.

Legal assistance may involve:

- Legal advice - Legal representation - Documentation support - Assistance with administrative procedures - Support with civil proceedings - Support with criminal proceedings - Access to remedies and justice mechanisms The programme aims to ensure that people facing legal and administrative barriers are able to access appropriate assistance. Community Legal Awareness The programme also focuses on strengthening legal awareness within affected communities. Trained paralegals can support community-based legal information activities, helping people understand: - Their legal rights - Available services - Legal procedures - Documentation requirements - Protection mechanisms - Available remedies Community-based legal awareness can help ensure that people are better informed about where and how they can seek assistance. Capacity Building for Legal Aid Partners Capacity development is an important part of the programme. Partners involved in legal aid are expected to strengthen their capacity to provide effective legal services to persons of concern. Capacity-building activities can help improve the quality, accessibility, and consistency of legal assistance provided to refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons, IDPs, and returnees. Documentation and Legal Identity Access to documentation and legal identity is another major focus. Legal assistance can help affected populations overcome barriers to obtaining or accessing necessary documentation. Documentation and legal identity are important because they can enable displaced persons and other persons of concern to access essential services and exercise their rights. Asylum and Nationality Procedures The programme supports legal assistance related to several important legal and administrative processes.

These include:

- Asylum procedures - Nationality procedures - Naturalization procedures - Civil status procedures

Particular attention is given to people who may be at risk of statelessness

Legal and technical support in these areas can help affected individuals navigate procedures and overcome administrative or legal barriers. Addressing Statelessness Statelessness is an important component of the programme’s legal protection work. Partners may support individuals at risk of statelessness through assistance related to nationality, naturalization, civil status, and documentation. Strengthening access to legal identity and relevant procedures can contribute to preventing and addressing statelessness. Detention and Prison Monitoring The programme also includes detention and prison monitoring. This component contributes to broader legal protection by helping identify protection concerns affecting people in detention or prison environments. Monitoring can form part of efforts to ensure that relevant legal and protection standards are respected. Advocacy and Government Engagement

Partners are expected to engage with government authorities and justice institutions

Advocacy and institutional engagement can help identify legal and administrative barriers and support improvements in protection mechanisms. Cooperation with relevant authorities is particularly important for issues involving documentation, asylum, nationality, civil status, justice, and durable solutions. Legal Protection for IDPs and Displaced Populations The programme