Below is an overview of in-depth reports published by the United Nations and covering the Middle East and North Africa.
During 2016, the conflict in Syria has continued with intensity and unpredictability, resulting in further loss of civilian life and material destruction. Of the estimated 450,000 Palestine refugees that remain inside Syria, over 95 per cent (430,000) are in critical need of sustained humanitarian assistance in order to survive. Almost 280,000 are internally displaced, and an estimated 43,000 are trapped in hard-to-reach or inaccessible locations such as Yarmouk, Khan Eshieh, and Muzeireb and Jillin in Dera’a. Read more
UNRWA is working on compiling inputs from field offices to feed into the Report of the Secretary-General on the situation of, and assistance to, Palestini-an Women, an annual report which presents an overview of the assistance provided to Palestinian women by the entities of the UN system. Read more
The report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 70/234, in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to report, within 45 days, on the implementation of the resolution by the Syrian authorities. In the resolution, the Assembly demanded that all parties should immediately put an end to violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law. The report covers the period from 1 November 2015 to 1 February 2016, and provides an update on respect for international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the Syrian Arab Republic. Read more
In January 2015, 200 women and men from Ethiopia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and beyond founded a Union for domestic workers in Lebanon. The Founding Congress was both a moving and historical occasion: this was the birth of the first Union for domestic workers in the Arab region, paving the way for similar initiatives in other countries in the Middle East. Read more
OCHA, July 2015 – 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza are ‘locked in’, denied free access to the remainder of the occupied Palestinian territory and the outside world. Movement restrictions imposed by Israelsince the early 1990’s and intensified in June 2007, citing security concerns, have undermined the living conditions in Gaza and fragmented the oPt and its economic and social fabric. Read More
UNFA, June 2015 – They have dreams of a better life for themselves and their children.More than four years of war have ravaged Syrian families and communities. Syrian women and girls are living through the most damaging conflict in the region’s recent history. Read More
ILO, April 2015 – The Jordanian government and people are highly, and rightfully, concerned about the potentially serious economic and social effects of the large influx of Syrian refugees to the country, including potential negative effects on the labour market. Read More.
OCHAOPT, March 2015 – The year 2014 was a traumatic one in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). In the Gaza Strip, 1.8 million Palestinians endured the worst escalation of hostilities since 1967: over 1,500 Palestinian civilians were killed, more than 11,000 injured and some 100,000 remain displaced. Read More
OCHA, February 2015 – Israeli policies and practices applied since the beginning of the occupation, which have accelerated in recent years, have resulted in the increasing fragmentation of the Bethlehem governorate and its population. These include the annexation of areas to Israel; the seizure of land and its allocation for settlement development and for military training; the imposition of physical and administrative access restrictions; the inadequate planning and zoning regime; and ineffective enforcement of the law on Israeli settlers, among others. Read More.
UNICEF, February 2015 – In November 2013, Lebanon pledged to eliminate the worst forms of child labour by 2016, through the enactment of a national action plan. As part of efforts to support this plan, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and Save the Children International (SCI) commissioned this study, upon the request of Lebanon’s Ministry of Labour (MOL). Accordingly, the study’s main purpose is to assess the magnitude and profile of children living and working on the streets– also known as street-based children (SBC) 2 ––as well as formulate evidence-based and actionable policy recommendations. Read More.