The Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) strategy is a longstanding commitment on the part of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to ensuring that people are at the centre of its mandate. The AGD strategy promotes gender equality and human rights, particularly women’s and children’s rights, and the protection of all refugees, regardless of their ethnic, social or religious background.

In 2021 there were 25 focus group discussions conducted as part of the AGD PA, consulting 288 persons of concern in the period August - October. In terms of legal status, 169 were asylum-seekers and 59 were beneficiaries of international protection. In terms of nationality, the majority came from Syria (127), Afghanistan (78) and Iraq (10). Fewer than 5 came from Cuba, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Guinea, Palestine, Yemen and Algeria respectively. 

Two main trends marked 2021 and added additional challenges to the work of state and non-governmental actors:

• Some of the long-lasting consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic affected available services and resulted in quarantine periods in substandard conditions, restricted presence of NGOs in reception centres, and a decrease in school enrolment and attendance and in economic opportunities. 
• A rising number of asylum-seekers - more than three times the number in 2020 - as well as a rising percentage of unaccompanied children, required additional financial and human resources in both state institutions and NGOs, which was not always possible.

The main conclusions related to integration show that there is no state institution responsible for integration activities and no selected deputy prime minister to coordinate the process, as per the Ordinance on the Terms and Conditions for Concluding, Implementing, and Terminating an Integration Agreement for Foreigners Granted Asylum or International Protection. There is no state budget for integration activities. EU funding - mainly under AMIF - is available, but is not directly channelled to local authorities and is subject to project-based application.

Only five regions of the Sofia Municipality have signed integration agreements for refugees since 2017. Municipalities do not have incentives to sign agreements, due to lack of funding, lack of experience in developing and implementing EU projects, lack of experience in refugee integration, and political considerations. There is also no mechanism for the identification of individuals willing to remain in the country and therefore eligible for inclusion in integration policies.

Thus, newly recognised refugees face imminent risk of homelessness and social exclusion, as they need to leave the State Agency for Refugees’ reception centres within 14 days. In this situation, the majority of refugees leave Bulgaria.

For a third consecutive year, none of the respondents shared that they have been a victim of xenophobic acts. However, many participants acknowledge the administrative difficulties and prejudices they feel when looking for housing (mass reluctance of landlords to rent their homes to refugees) or when communicating with local authorities and banking institutions.

Finally, the report provides recommendations for integration:

• Establish a state-led integration system with available funding for municipalities that implement integration activities and coordinating body;
• Re-establish the integration centres in SAR reception centres to offer language, vocation and cultural orientation courses during the initial adaptation period;
• Inform the respective Directorates of Social Assistance for the granting of international protection to vulnerable individuals;
• Stop the discriminatory practice of refusal of family benefits for children to refugees;
• Develop guidelines for banking institutions on provision of services to asylum-seekers and refugees in line with the European legislation;
• Develop a procedure for access to driving licenses for refugees lacking original school certificates;
• Provide more opportunities for Bulgarian language learning, especially outside Sofia;
• Establish a fund for payment of old health insurance instalments in emergency medical cases;
• Map Arab businesses offering housing and jobs to refugees;
• Further develop the support network for refugees outside Sofia;
• Map doctors willing to register and provide services to refugees, especially children.