COERR Mae Sot with the cooperation of UNHCR and NGOs concerned held a Child Protection Referral System Workshop (CPRS) for refugee leaders and community-based organizations (CBOs) to learn, exchange and share information and experience of child protection referral system processing, obstructions and challenges. The first workshop was held in Mae La Camp on 20 May 2011. The next workshops will be held in Umpiem and Nupo camps in June.

63 participants in the first workshop included COERR Child Protection and Psychosocial Team, UNHCR, other NGOs in camps, refugee camp committee, section leaders, community-based organizations such as Karen women organization, Child Protection Advocates, and Community Social Workers.

The outputs from the workshop were that participants understood more about the CPRS mechanism: structure of work, roles of each organization in child protection, situation and problems occurred during the implementation and brainstorm for problem solutions.

Refugee leaders and community-based organizations were also aware of different NGOs’ roles and commitments, such as legal, psycho-social, health, and education and ways to deal with obstacles occurred in CPRS which will lead to a good child protection planning.

Other outputs include development of information sharing amongst child protection responders, planning for base line data, development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for sexual and gender-based referral and case management, training for SGBV – SOP development, awareness, strengthening, engaging the Royal Thai Government in justice, health and child protection.