When people are forced to flee and abandon their homes, they stand to lose a range of rights. Legal and institutional frameworks often pose a challenge for people on the move, and with protracted crises on the rise, they also face the risk of being trapped in an uncertain situation for years on end.
Addressing the legal implications of displacement
A main priority for a person forced to flee is to find safety, shelter, food and water, and some semblance of normality. Once settled into new, often temporary, homes, they begin to grapple with life’s broader issues. Securing civil or identity documentation and an education for their children, getting married, finding a job and source of stable income, all involve often complex administrative or legal procedures. Choosing whether to return home, stay where they are, or to move to another place altogether, also requires people to be well-informed about the legal implications involved.
The Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) information, counselling and legal assistance (ICLA) programme exists to support people in navigating these systems and making free, informed decisions about their future.
If you are interested in partnering with NRC, please contact corporate@nrc.no.
A main priority for a person forced to flee is to find safety, shelter, food and water, and some semblance of normality. Once settled into new, often temporary, homes, they begin to grapple with life’s broader issues. Securing civil or identity documentation and an education for their children, getting married, finding a job and source of stable income, all involve often complex administrative or legal procedures. Choosing whether to return home, stay where they are, or to move to another place altogether, also requires people to be well-informed about the legal implications involved.
The Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) information, counselling and legal assistance (ICLA) programme exists to support people in navigating these systems and making free, informed decisions about their future.
NRC’s areas of focus
In 2006, when ICLA was first launched as a core programme, it focused mainly on facilitating the journey home for people affected by displacement. Over time, however, it expanded its focus to six thematic areas, including:
- Housing, land, and property rights are about having a home, free from the fear of being forcibly evicted - a place that offers safety, shelter, and the ability to seek livelihood opportunities.
Our experts on the ground engage with a variety of legal systems to help solve disputes over housing, land and property. - Civil and identity documentation are essential to accessing rights and basic services, such as education and healthcare. Without a legal identity, a person risks statelessness and loses their freedom of movement.
We provide information on rights and processes, provide legal advice and representation before government entities, support women’s access to documentation, and, in some contexts, make cash transfers complementing these initiatives. - Employment laws and procedures to support people affected by displacement enjoy the right to work – a critical criterion in helping them determine their next steps.
We provide information and legal counselling or assistance to access decent employment, resolve labour disputes, and navigate regulations related to self-employment, small businesses, or workers’ associations. - Legal stay encompasses procedures for refugee status determination, residency documents, and immigration visas and permits. Legal stay is critical to ensure displaced persons can access several rights and protections, including the freedom to move, protections against refoulement, and access to essential services.
We conduct research on different types of legal stay and provide displacement-affected people with information and legal assistance on the best options available to them.
ICLA’s global reach
NRC’s ICLA programme operates in 40 countries across the globe, with local and international legal experts at the helm.
The programme reached more than 1,500,000 people in 2022 alone.
NRC’s passionate experts
Yuliia is one of our lawyers in Ukraine and has been working with the team for nearly eight years. She decided to become a lawyer at the age of 18, following in her father’s footsteps.
“From early childhood I dreamed of being a lawyer and helping people this way,” she explains.
In 2014 Yuliia was forced to flee her home with her family when the conflict in Ukraine erupted. She was driven to flee a second time during the escalation in 2022. Despite the hardships she has endured, Yuliia remains steadfastly dedicated to her role.
When we interviewed Yuliia in 2019, she told us about her work with complex cases. “I work on cases requiring an integrated approach,” she says. “Obviously, for a person who needs a passport but has never had one before, one consultation is not enough.”
Yuliia provides legal assistance, helping people obtain identity (and other civil status) documents and access social benefits and pensions. She takes care to inform those affected by the conflict about the rights guaranteed to them.
Yuliia’s team persisted in providing legal aid through the war’s escalation in 2022. The team of six lawyers used all possible channels to communicate with people who needed support: email, Viber, and a telephone hotline.
Most of the issues they dealt with concerned travelling abroad, evacuation from dangerous areas, and restoration of documents.
Legal experts like Yuliia lead our global ICLA operations with experience, dedication, and a staunch motivation to help those affected by displacement.
ICLA in practice
The vast majority of Syrian refugees who fled the 2011 crisis ended up in neighbouring Türkiye, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq. Many lacked essential civil and identity documentation and others lost them amidst the turmoil in Syria.
With varying legal systems in place, those who fled to Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq were confronted with debilitating legal challenges. Couples who married informally in Syria, for example, found themselves without the necessary proof of marriage in Jordan.
These challenges compound over time, with a missing marriage certificate leading to undocumented children without an identity. Children lacking legal identities face multiple risks including statelessness (i.e. are not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law), losing access to essential basic services, and being separated from their parents.
In Jordan, our ICLA teams promote and protect the rights of refugees and vulnerable Jordanians. In Lebanon, our teams improve access to rights and essential services for refugees, vulnerable Lebanese citizens, and other people affected by displacement.
Our 2025 vision
NRC is one of the leading legal protection experts in the humanitarian sector. Our work in housing, land, and property rights and civil and identity documentation is what we are recognised for by our stakeholders.
By 2025, we aim to strengthen our experience in employment laws and procedures, as well as lead the digital transformation of legal systems in our contexts. We also aim to institutionalise our work on displaced women’s housing, land and property rights and position ourselves as an access-to-justice actor.
Our strength lies in our expertise and versatility, making our interventions relevant in any context. Through our advocacy, we address barriers to accessing rights and durable solutions at both national and regional levels.
Broadening our knowledge with private sector expertise
It’s not only in the field that we face challenges related to legal matters. NRC, as a humanitarian organisation, must comply with the law, and, given the variety and type of environments where we operate, the legal issues that arise can be complicated.
The Norwegian law firm CMS Kluge has assisted NRC’s legal team at head office in Oslo for over a decade. They have been essential in navigating some of these difficult legal issues and are now one of our most important private sector partners.
Our collaboration with CMS Kluge involves the exchange of knowledge and expertise and legal assistance in major projects. This includes legal guidance regarding sanctions, employment law, data protection, taxation, and contracting.
NRC relies on CMS Kluge’s expertise to assist us with issues within the Norwegian legal context, as well as for legal support that has reach beyond the borders of Norway. They have played a pivotal role in helping us understand NRC’s data protection obligations outside of the EU.
Collaborating with our private sector partners becomes indispensable as we navigate complex legal systems to provide aid and assistance to vulnerable populations across the world.