We have just concluded a very productive meeting with the representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Poland, Mr Kevin J. Allen, and his colleagues: Ms Katarzyna Oyrzanowska, Assistant Government Liaison Officer at the UNHCR Representation in Poland, and Ms Irina Isomova, a Community-Based Protection Specialist for Refugees. The meeting was also attended by the Member of the Board of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Ms Agnieszka Kapała-Sokalska, accompanied by representatives of two departments: Ms Monika Pochroń-Frankowska, Deputy Director of the Chancellery of the Marshal of the Voivodeship, and Ms Agnieszka Zabłocka, Deputy Director of the Regional Centre for Social Policy.
During the meeting, the activities of the Self-Government of the Pomeranian Voivodeship aimed at supporting refugees from Ukraine were presented, along with information on in-kind humanitarian aid delivered directly to Ukraine.
Cooperation with UNHCR in the area of providing financial assistance to refugees was also reviewed. It is worth recalling that following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, two emergency cash assistance points for refugees from Ukraine were launched in the Pomeranian Voivodeship (in Gdańsk and Gdynia) in 2022 under the Multipurpose Cash Assistance programme.
At the end of November last year, UNHCR, in cooperation with the Regional Centre for Social Policy of the Marshal’s Office of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, launched mobile teams on a pilot basis to enable the registration of as many refugees as possible residing in Słupsk and Starogard counties, where, according to collected data, the highest number of people meeting the eligibility criteria for support were located. Thanks to very good cooperation, the initiative was a great success; therefore, we asked the UNHCR representative to continue and expand the pilot to additional counties in our voivodeship this year.
Many important issues were discussed during the meeting, including:
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the need to develop and implement, at both governmental and regional levels, a strategy for the integration of immigrants;
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the need to entrust the regional self-government with competencies enabling it to coordinate tasks related to immigrant integration at the regional level;
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the necessity of developing and implementing systemic support for refugees with disabilities;
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Ukrainian foster care and human trafficking;
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securing funding for scholarships for talented Ukrainian youth residing in Poland.
Mr Kevin Allen was invited to the next meeting of the Task Force for Regional Migration Policy, to be held on 20 February 2023, during which he will present a summary of UNHCR’s activities in Poland and in Pomerania to date. The meeting will also feature presentations of projects implemented by the Cities of Gdańsk, Sopot, and Gdynia, financed by UNICEF Poland under the Child Friendly Cities programme, encompassing activities for the benefit of children from Ukraine.
