The Minister of Economy and Trade H.E. Dr. Alain Al-Hakim, in collaboration with UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Lebanon Mr. Ross Mountain, visited several Lebanese Host Communities projects in Akkar. The first stop was at the Cooperative Association for Agriculture and Food Processing in Fnaydeq and the United Cooperative of Akkar in Joumeh region of Akkar, where they met with the head of municipalities and members of agricultural cooporatives.

Jord Akkar is the major fruit producing area in Akkar district, where apple is the major crop in addition to some annual crops and summer vegetables. Prior to the conflict across the border, Syria served as the main transit route for the export of fresh agricultural produce. The Syrian crisis and the consequent closure of the border had limited the demand to the local consumers and has resultantly decreased the prices of agriculture produce in this region, affecting the income of farmers and the livelihood of their families. This situation is forcing many farmers to abandon their fields and orchards. The decrease in livelihood opportunities has been further exacerbated due to the influx of refugees and is causing stress to the local socio-economic fabric.

Through this project, and with the funding of the German donation and “Lebanon Recovery Fund”(LRF), the UNDP in partnership with the Ministry of Social Affairs, is supporting the cooperative’s manufacturing capacity by equipping the cooperative with fruit-drying-equipment and by purchasing a vehicle to transport the products to different markets. As for the The United Cooperative in Akkar, the project is Providing a washing, grading and packaging machine, a vehicle to the cooperative for the transportation of the products to the market, establishment of a hangar in front of the facility to allow the easy access for trucks, and Enhancing the capacity of the Cooperative storage by providing 3000 boxes.

“I’m glad to be here with you today in dear Akkar, in the frame of the tour with Mr. Ross Mountain on some of the projects that are funded by the German Government through “Lebanon Recovery Fund”. Said his Excellency Hakim. “I know very well that these small contributions do not solve the major problems that this dear area of Lebanon suffers from. And I know the amount of the development projects that this region need from water, to power, sewage, Rehabilitation of schools and clinics. I assure you that we did not hesitate to work hard on all aspect with the all the donors to provide enough funding for the needed reformation, to help our people in Akkar in surviving and Securing sustainable development.”

Mr. Ross Mountain said “I am delighted to have the chance to come back to Akkar, I am very aware that this area has been deprived for many years and is now having the additional pressure of the refugees upon the population, I am glad that the Minister of Economy and Trade Dr. Alain Hakeem has taken the initiative to reinvigorate the Lebanese Recovery Fund with a particular objective of supporting Lebanese host communities. We believe that it is vital to support impoverished communities that deserve help and have not had support. It is important to try and strengthen the capacities of the communities to develop themselves.”

Mr. Hikmat Saba, The head of the United Cooperative in Akkar said “around 8000 to 9000 farmers will benefit from this project, and it will also encourage the local dealers to put their products here in the cooperative. Our main goal is for the local farmer to stay in town, to improve his connection to the ground and reduce the Displacement of farmers to the cities”.

During the tour, HE minister Hakim and Mr. Mountain visited the some houses of beneficiaries of the provision of solar lighting and briquette stoves in the area, the project that was funded by the German donation and established by the Country Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (CEDRO) part of UNDP, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Ministry of energy and water. The project provided 500 stoves and 500 lighting devices via solar energy for the most needing houses in the host communities in Akkar and Beqaa and 303 Lebanese in Akkar benefited from it.

UNDP, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs, so far supported 130 projects in the Host Communities with a large number of displaced Syrians compared to Lebanese. The support through “The Lebanon Host Communities Support Project aims” at supporting the activities that will lead to strengthen stability and improve the development under the “National Response Plan” (NRP) by creating job opportunities and providing the basic services. This year UNDP and Ministry of Social Affairs aims at achieving 170 new projects in Lebanese Host communities.

These dashboards reflect the humanitarian and resilience responses of more than 200 partners, including governments, UN Agencies, and NGOs, involved in the 3RP response in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Achievements are cumulative from the start of 2015, while targets are based on full funding of the 3RP and an expected 4.27 million refugees by end-2015.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Activities to protect children continue to be scaled-up across the region, including investments in community-based protection and national systems to help build the resilience of refugees and their communities.

In Egypt, 4,966 children and parents have now accessed community-based psychosocial support services (PSS) and child protection services this year - a significant increase from the 780 children and parents who had accessed the same services by the end of March.

In Iraq, some 948 separated and unaccompanied children have been reunified with their families, or been placed in alternative care, since the start of the year. In April, 906 children accessed PSS, bringing the total number who have accessed PSS in 2015 to 15,749 - almost 80 per cent of the year's target.

In Turkey, during April alone some 6,062 children benefitted from PSS in 25 child friendly spaces (CFS), bringing the total assisted this year to more 17,656.

The implementation of the Lebanon Ministry of Social Affairs’ National Plan to Safeguard Children and Women began this month, with the endorsement of 31 local development action plans outlining implementation of prevention and response activities delivered through Social Development Centres (SDC). Multiple services aimed at mitigating risk and harm to children, and supporting parents and families will be implemented in 57 SDCs by the end of 2015.

In Jordan, two trainings on alternative care were organized for 58 NGO case workers and members of the Ministry of Social Development and the Family Protection Department. Alternative care was only recently institutionalized in Jordan and training was required to address basic definitions and processes related to unaccompanied and separated children, alternative care placement and best interest determinations.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Since the start of the refugee crisis, partners across the region had been supporting Syrian refugees with individual food parcels, to ensure that they receive 2,100 kcal per day and to reduce negative coping mechanisms. However, as the number of refugees increased, the food assistance operation has expanded and improved, transitioning toward food vouchers and e-cards enabling refugees to purchase food, helping return a sense of normalcy to their lives, and building ties between refugees and host communities.

Basirma camp in Iraq has now fully transitioned from in-kind food support to food vouchers, following the completion of a retail shop in early April. Preparations are already underway for the expansion of a similar voucher programme and shop in Qushtapa camp. Similarly, in Egypt, an e-voucher pilot was tested this month, in partnership with Fathallah supermarket chains in Alexandria. Meanwhile in Greater Cairo, partners are using Carrefour electronic gift cards.

For refugees living in host communities in Jordan, a partnership with MasterCard has transitioned nearly all assistance to e-cards. In Turkey, more than 152,000 Syrians in 11 camps are being supported with e-cards and approximately USD3.1 million was transferred to refugees in April. In Lebanon, over 870,000 people are being supported with food assistance through various modalities.
The yearly livestock vaccination campaign that was initiated in mid-February continued this month in Lebanon, with the support of the Veterinary Department.

Overall, more than 416,000 animals (including cattle and small ruminants) were vaccinated by the end of April, benefitting 13,050 farmers.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Efforts continued to enhance the capacity of the teachers in both camp and noncamp schools which is aimed at improving the quality of education to benefit schoolaged children in the region.

In Iraq, a series of trainings were organised in several governorates on fundamentals of good teaching practice, which benefitted over 179 teachers in both camp and noncamp settings in Erbil and Arbat governorates. In addition, some 190 teachers received refresher training in Duhok and Sulaymaniyah governorates. In Duhok, the Education Working Group is in the process of establishing Parent Teacher Associations in the camps, with the aim of ensuring higher quality of education and consistency with Government requirements.

In Turkey, as of end April, a total of 4,958 volunteer teachers working in both camps and host communities were provided with incentives under an initiative which was started in 2014. It is anticipated that this will contribute to improving the quality of education provided to about 190,000 Syrian refugee children by ensuring stability and motivation among the teachers.

During the month of April, 42 Syrian teachers received training on general teaching skills in 6th October city in Egypt, bringing the total number of educators trained to 180 for the year.

As part of ongoing development, 1,223 teachers, educators and facilitators have been trained in Lebanon this year.

In Jordan, 345 teachers, school supervisors, counsellors and other educational personnel have benefitted from training so far this year.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

This month, polio vaccination capaigns were launched or continued in four host countries.

In Egypt, the first round of the polio immunization campaign began and more than 15.4 million under five children were vaccinated, 94 per cent of the target. Awareness activities were conducted by community health volunteers prior to the start of the polio campaign.

In Jordan, a total of 373,622 children under five living in 210 'high risk' areas in host communities were vaccinated during the first part of the Sub-National Immunization Days (SNID). The campaign will continue in refugee camps during May.

In Iraq, a campaign in the Kurdistan Region saw 763,104 children vaccinated against polio during April, reaching almost 100 per cent of the target.

Partners conducted a supplementary polio vaccination campaign in Lebanon in 27 districts, reaching children under five regardless of nationality.

By the end of 2015, some 22.5 million children are targeted to receive a polio vaccination. As of end-April, more than 16.2 million children have been immunized so far.

Other routine vaccination programmes also continue in the refugee hosting countries. For example, in Lebanon 20,426 refugee and host community children were covered during the month with routine vaccinations, while in Iraq some 2,000 Syrian refugee children below the age of one have been immunized against measles this year.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Unconditional multi-purpose cash assistance programmes continue to be stepped up throughout the region in line with the 3RP strategy while cash coordination mechanisms continue to be streamlined to ensure greater efficiency and effectiveness.

In Lebanon, the provision of cash assistance remains a key priority for partners. Of the 93,595 households targeted by the end of the year, 23,122 poor refugees households have been assisted since January. Results of the vulnerability assessments carried out to date show that 42 per cent of the 40,000 families visited are in need of financial assistance. Below standard living conditions (63 percent of the households visited live in substandard shelters) and negative coping mechanisms (89 percent of the households visited are in debt and 53 percent of visited families with children have withdrawn their children from school) are expected to be alleviated by cash assistance.

In Jordan, cash assistance continues to be provided to vulnerable refugee families and since the beginning of the year 34,588 vulnerable refugee households and Jordanians (out of yearly target of 92,026) have been assisted.

In Turkey, multi-purpose cash assistance has been provided to 6,019 vulnerable households in Gaziantep since the beginning of the year and plans are being developed to further roll out the scheme in the coming months

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

This month in Jordan, the restructuring of Zaatari camp is in process to best utilize the camp space in line with minimum standards and preserving social fabrics to the maximum extent possible. This is aimed at introduction of the new shelter design including WASH, kitchenette and concrete flooring. Outside of camps, the improvement of sub-standard shelters continued with 1,544 people now having benefitted from upgrades of their shelters.

In Iraq, shelter improvement work continued in the nine camps. Of the total households, some 13,100 households (nearly 74 per cent) now live in improved shelters with concrete slab, kitchen, latrine and shower. About 2,700 households are still in need of support for the improvement of their shelters.

In Darashakran camp in Erbil Governorate, with the completion of the construction work of 220 concrete units, all the 2,172 shelter units in the camp have been improved. It is anticipated that the site will be ready to accommodate the refugees from Kobani within the next two months.

The construction of 654 extension plots in Domiz 1, 2 and Gawilan camps, Duhok Governorate, started this month. This expansion will benefit nearly 4,400 refugees who have been living in substandard conditions. Most of the shelter improvement works are made by the refugees themselves.
In Turkey, as of April, some 6,930 households have been supported with shelter solutions.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

In April, WASH partners continued to provide safe drinking water and improve sanitation and hygiene promotion in nine permanent camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and Al Obaidi camp in Anbar Governorate, reaching about 93,000 refugees. With the establishment of permanent water supply systems in most of the camps, water trucking was only targeted to those who cannot access water from the main pipe line network.

Regular repairs and maintenance of the water system were carried out to ensure uninterrupted supply of safe water to the camp residents. During the month, refugee families relocating from old camp sites to their new shelter plots in camps in Erbil Governorate were provided with keys to their sanitation facilities as they arrived. In Arbat camp, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, three boreholes were connected to four reservoirs with a total capacity of 340m3 . The operation of the water networks will drastically reduce costs in Iraq, promote the equitable use of WASH services for refugees and conserve the environment by reducing water trucking.

With the increasing population and rising temperatures in Azraq camp in Jordan this month, there has been a significant increase in water consumption (72 per cent), whilst the volumes of wastewater are also rising. WASH sector partners are currently finalizing the WASH services in two new villages in the camp and as of end-April, only one WASH block needs to be completed.

Rehabilitation of water networks and safer water supply mechanisms in Lebanon helped in significantly decreasing the number of refugees and host community residents contracting water-borne and sanitation-related diseases in April.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

In Turkey, the draft Temporary Protection regulation includes an article on access to the labour market by Syrian refugees. This article will be instrumental in ensuring access to employment and self-reliance by refugees affected by a crisis which has now entered its fifth year. The draft regulation, which determines the principles and procedures for integration of Syrians into the national labour market, has been submitted to the Council of Ministers and is expected to be issued at some time after national elections in June. Also in Turkey, language and vocational activities continue to be supported, with 6,750 Syrians participating in these courses since the start of the year.

Many refugees in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) already have access to the labour market, and 3RP partners provide assistance to help facilitate job opportunities. This includes through business development services which include elements of vocational training and in-kind packages to help with the establishment of small businesses under approved business plans. One hundred refugees in Gawilan camp completed their course this month. Across the KRI, almost 900 individuals were trained or assisted with the development of skills during the month, while almost 80 accessed wage employment opportunities.

In Lebanon, livelihoods activities remain important but have slowed this month, with 176 beneficiaries of rapid income generation activities (compared to 766 in March) and 327 beneficiaries of market-based skills trainings (compared to 547 in March). This is due to some major programmes of partners closing down to funding shortfalls, and to the difficulty of others to bring their programmes to scale and the unclear legal framework for refugees to access work.

BEIRUT, 11 June 2015 (IRIN) - The negative impact of Syria’s war on its neighbours has been discussed at length. Governments in Jordan and Lebanon are constantly appealing for more support. But what is less spoken about is the economic boon of having one of the world’s largest aid operations move into town.
A new UN study suggests there may be far more positive implications from hosting refugees than previously estimated.

The study, conducted jointly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, looks at the impact of humanitarian aid on the Lebanese economy since Syrian refugees first began fleeing the war in 2011.

It argues that for every dollar spent on the humanitarian response roughly another $0.50 is added to the economy through multiplier effects.

As such, the roughly $800 million annual spending on refugees is leading to a total positive impact of $1.2 billion.

In total, it said, humanitarian aid was adding 1.3 percent to Lebanese GDP annually.

Aid agencies that before the 2011 civil war had only a few staff have now ballooned into the hundreds, providing plenty of new jobs for the Lebanese, while hundreds of millions of dollars have also been pumped into the economy in food and other forms of aid – creating trade for local businesses.

Lebanon, a country of only around four million citizens, is hosting nearly 1.2 million registered Syrian refugees, but has been cracking down on their presence.

The Lebanese government has argued that the country cannot cope with the scale of the influx, introducing tough new regulations for those seeking to renew their status and even recently banning UNHCR from registering newly arrived Syrians as refugees.

The report does conclude that the net impact of the Syrian crisis – including a 23 percent decline in tourism and 7.5 percent loss in exports – is negative.

But most of the total 1.6 percent of GDP in estimated losses are offset by the economic benefits of humanitarian aid, leaving the overall negative impact at only 0.3 percent of GDP annually.

This figure is far lower than previous estimates. In 2013, the World Bank put the annual impact at minus 2.9 percent of GDP and said it was driving up to 170,000 Lebanese into poverty.

Jad Chaaban, associate professor of economics at the American University of Beirut, argued that the World Bank report was based on flawed methodology.

He reckoned the effect of the influx of aid workers has been even more positive than the new UNHCR/UNDP study estimates as the refugees are clustered in northern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley – two of the country’s poorest areas.

“This is an aggregate figure, not a regional analysis. In a way it underestimates the true value to the regions,” he said. “The local impacts in these regions are probably even more positive.”

Chaaban pointed out that the Lebanese economy actually grew faster than expected in 2014 – at about 2 percent, compared with 0.9 percent in 2013.

“With the war next door and a large refugee population you would expect negative growth, perhaps 1 or 2 percent,” he said. “So it shows that Lebanon is definitely benefitting from some parts of the crisis.”

Yet Nassib Ghobril, head of economic research at the country’s Byblos Bank, said the UN was seeking to put a “positive spin” on the refugee situation.

“They are looking at the impact of this specific 800 million dollars and then taking certain indicators, not all indicators, into account,” he said. “You cannot separate the impact of humanitarian aid from other effects.”

While the UN report included some negative impacts of the Syrian crisis, it ignored others, including “consumer confidence and investor sentiment,” Ghobril said.

Regional trade routes have been hit hard by the conflict and the uncertainty has undermined private sector confidence, he added.

jd/ag

Editors’ note: names have been changed for security reasons.

By Masha Hamilton, Vice President of Communications

Ibrahim, a large man with an expressive face, was a gentle poetry-loving teacher when he married Khadija and they began a family. But after the Syrian war left him a refugee with no job, a sense of worthlessness, and responsibility for his wife, their seven children and his mother, the gentleness fled.

“He began to beat me,” Khadija, 42, says without any hesitation or shyness, sitting in her small home in a camp refugees built on a former garbage heap in northern Lebanon. “I remember him as so nice before, so affectionate. I know life has been hard and he’s under a lot of pressure. But this became too much.”

Still in easy touch with his emotions, Ibrahim, 52, cries when he talks about war atrocities he witnessed in his home of Qusayr, Syria, and speaks tenderly of the children he taught, with a special fondness for fourth graders. But he acknowledges: “The war changed our life from — I don’t want to say heaven, but it definitely became hell. We used to argue, my wife and I, but we could make things work. After we left Syria, it wasn’t working any more.”

Recognizing men’s traumatization: a key to change

The couple credits an unusual program that targets men’s attitudes to create changes in the lives of families and communities — the first of its kind for Syrian refugees in Lebanon — with spurring a transformation.

The mechanism is community-developed “men’s committees,” which meet weekly over three months to consider how to apply methods of non-violent conflict resolution developed by Marshall Rosenberg, focusing on self-empathy, empathy for others, and honest self-expression.

“I won’t say he never gets angry,” Khadija says, “but now he counts to ten aloud, or he simply walks away. Sometimes he manages to laugh.”

Of the nearly 4 million people who have fled Syria to live in neighboring countries, four out of five are women and children. Refugee men, who feel it is their duty to support their families, but can’t find the means, often resort to gender-based violence, surveys show. The program developed by Concern Worldwide in Lebanon is based on the belief that helping men recognize their own traumatization is key to improving the lives of women and children refugees.

“Perpetrators are largely victims of their circumstances and they need support to change,” said Protection Program Director Samantha Hutt, who designed the project. “The other aspect of protection programming I am really passionate about is empowering people to be the authors of their own life, whether they be children, people with disabilities, or people living in tents.”

“These sessions made us feel someone cared…”

The project is definitely accomplishing that: the men interviewed from among the 45 men’s groups in northern Lebanon invariably felt the project gave them critically needed help to change their own lives in a way that none of the other refugee services had.

“These sessions made us feel that someone cared for us on an emotional level. This doesn’t happen often in our masculine society, where we are driven by the idea that we must be machines and provide for our families,” says Hassan, a father of three and originally from Yarmouk Camp in Syria.

Hassan, educated as most of the Syrian refugees are, and the former owner of a clothing shop, used to write in his free time — poetry, stories, and he had begun work on a novel. After becoming a refugee, he says, he stopped writing. “I felt as if my arm had been cut off.”

He lost nearly 50 pounds in the first two months of being a refugee, and his feeling of worthlessness was not lessened when he began to get day jobs as a tiler.

In December of 2014, he had a heart attack. He credits the men’s program with returning him to himself. His conversations with his wife improved, and he began to write again, as well as draw. “Almost 90 percent of solving these problems is simply understanding ourselves and the pressures we face,” he said.

Refugee participants become part of a community

The program includes videos, guest speakers, worksheets, references to the Quran and more to help spur discussion. Men also consider issues of early marriage, weigh refugee community priorities, talk about strategies to deal with exploitive employers and other concerns. Very quickly the men, who often reported feeling isolated, now find themselves part of a trusted community.

Equally as critically, they recapture a sense of having some control over their own lives in a midst of a civil war that sent them fleeing from their homes and robbed them of a feeling of self-determination.

“This program gave us the fishing rod, which is much better than giving us the fish,” says Rashad, a father of two originally from Homs Province, who spent weeks in prison in Damascus before escaping across the border into Lebanon. “Being a refugee is something very hard. I had lost my identity. This gave us the chance to take control of our own lives.”

Development and Peace is increasing its aid to those affected by the crisis in Syria, both within the country and in countries that have taken in refugees. The Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFADT) has contributed $6.2 million towards Development and Peace’s work in the region. This is in addition to $11 million already contributed by DFADT. Development and Peace has also committed $1.2 million of its own funds to support local organizations in providing help and services.

This crisis, which is now in its 5th year, has created huge humanitarian needs. There are currently close to 4 million Syrian refugees who are being hosted mainly by Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, and over 7 million who are displaced from their homes within Syria.

Development and Peace is continuing its partnership with Caritas Lebanon and Caritas Jordan to support Syrian refugees. In Lebanon, mobile medical clinics are responding to the unmet healthcare needs of refugees, particularly those not living in camps. In Jordan, welcome centres are providing guidance and services to newly-arrived refugees as a means to help them settle.

In addition, Development and Peace is supporting the work of psycho-social center, a group in Turkey that is helping refugee children with their education, and helping families cope with their difficult circumstances.

Within Syria, Development and Peace has extended the scope of its work significantly. It is working with several organizations to provide aid and be in solidarity with those living through this brutal conflict. With these partners, which include amongst others, Jesuit Refugee Service Syria, Kesh Malek and the Sacred Heart Sisters, Development and Peace is providing services such as:

• Accompaniment for people with mental disabilities;
  
• Support to schools so they can remain open;
  
• Vocational training and support to women who have been displaced;
  
• Support to small-scale farmers so they do not lose their crops;
  
• Help with housing;
  
• Distribution of household items such as clothes, bed linens, kitchen supplies, and hygiene kits;
  
• Medication for chronic diseases and hospital access.
  

“As this crisis is worsening, we felt we needed to move beyond merely meeting the basic needs of the population, and start addressing the long-term psychological impacts of this conflict. When people can work, go to school and feel a sense of community it gives hope that there is a future,” says Guy Des Aulniers, International Emergency Relief Coordinator at Development and Peace. “The partner organizations we work with show extreme courage and we want to support them as best we can.”

Development and Peace has raised close to $3 million from the Canadian public for this crisis, and is continuing to accept donations.

Donations can be made by telephone (1 888 664-3387), on our website or by sending a cheque made out to Development and Peace (please indicate Syria Crisis) to:

Development and Peace
1425 René-Lévesque Blvd. West 3rd Floor
Montreal QC H3G 1T7

In solidarity with the people of Syria, the organization has also launched a petition calling on the Canadian government to support a negotiated and inclusive peaceful solution to the conflict.

To learn more about the work of Development and Peace in Syria and to sign the petition, visit www.devp.org/syria.

For more information, please contact:
Kelly Di Domenico, Communications Officer
514 257-8710 ext. 365
514 226-9620 (cell)
kelly.didomenico@devp.org

The State of Kuwait has made an important contribution to UNESCO Education Response to the Syria Crisis. At the solemn handover ceremony held today in the Palais des Nations, Mr Abdulaziz Almuzaini, Director of the UNESCO Geneva Office, received the cheque of US$ 5 million from Dr. Abdullah Al-Matouq, Advisor of His Highness Amir of the State of Kuwait and the United Nations Secretary-General’s Humanitarian Envoy.

“UNESCO will fully dedicate this contribution to expand educational opportunities for young people affected by the Syria crisis, by building on its existing programmes in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, as well as inside Syria”, said Mr Almuzaini while expressing the Organization’s deep gratitude to the State of Kuwait.

Recalling that education remained one of the most significant gap areas in the international humanitarian response to the Syria crisis, Mr Almuzaini reiterated that “UNESCO is and will continue concentrating efforts within its programme Bridging Learning Gaps for Youth for young people affected by the crisis”. “More than half of all children and youth affected by the Syria crisis are out of school”, he said.

Kuwait’s contribution will help UNESCO to scale up its larger work related to providing youth with learning opportunities at secondary and higher education levels including Technical Education and Vocational Education, and to improving the quality of education, so that it is respectful of the diversity of learners’ needs. UNESCO also endeavors to help strengthen education systems to become more resilient to the impact of the Syria crisis on public service delivery.

The State of Kuwait hosted three major International Humanitarian Pledging Conferences for Syria, the most recent of which was held on 31 March 2015 in Kuwait City. Several other UN programmes and agencies, engaged in the humanitarian response to the Syria crisis, have also received financial contributions from the State of Kuwait during the handover ceremony.

I. Introduction

1. The present report, which covers the period from January to December 2014, is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2068 (2012), by which the Council requested that I continue to submit annual reports on the implementation of its resolutions and presidential statements on children and armed conflict.

2. The report highlights recent global trends regarding the impact of armed conflict on children and provides information on grave violations committed against children in 2014. The main activities and initiatives with regard to the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions and the conclusions of its Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict are outlined. In line with the resolutions of the Council pertaining to children and armed confli ct, the report includes in its annexes a list of parties that engage in the recruitment and use of children, sexual violence against children, the killing and maiming of children, attacks on schools and/or hospitals and attacks or threats of attacks against protected personnel, in contravention of international law.

3. All information presented in the present report and its annexes has been documented, vetted and verified for accuracy by the United Nations. In situations where the ability to obtain or independently verify information is hampered by such factors as insecurity or access restrictions, it is qualified as such. The preparation of the report and its annexes involved broad consultations within the United Nations, at Headquarters and in the field, and with relevant Member States.

4. Pursuant to Security Council resolution 1612 (2005), and in identifying situations that fall within the scope of her mandate, my Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict is guided by the criteria found in international humanitarian law and international jurisprudence for determining the existence of an armed conflict. Reference to a situation is not a legal determination, and reference to a non-State party does not affect its legal status.

With few other options, Syrian refugees in Lebanon are forced to live as second-class citizens with ever greater restrictions on their daily lives. Anna Lekas Miller reports from Jaharriyeh refugee camp.

Nestled in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, the area now known as Jaharriyeh Camp used to be uninhabited fertile fields outside the aptly named West Bekaa town of al-Marj, meaning meadow. Now it is a dusty encampment of UNHCR and UNICEF-branded plastic tarp tents housing hundreds of Syrian refugees, many of whom have been living here for two years or longer.

At the beginning of June, a fire seared through the camp, burning 160 tents housing 600 people, killing at least four and injuring dozens. Although it is thought to have started as an ordinary cooking fire, the blaze quickly engulfed several of the surrounding closely packed tents, burning homes, shops, a school and an arts and cultural center to the ground.

Twenty-four hours later, the smell of burning still hangs in the air. Freshly baked bread from the day before is now blackened, though still neatly stacked. Inadvertently cooked eggs rot on the ground, gathering swarms of flies. A young girl is searching through what little remains of the school for her books. A child eats a burnt potato.

Nadia is crouched on the floor of a makeshift shelter that survived the fire, staring in shock at what used to be her home.

"I used to work here as a baker, but now everything is gone - our shop, our salary, our papers." She talks quickly, gesticulating with her hands - which are blackened from digging through the rubble.

"We left Syria for this?" she asks, incredulous.

A seemingly ordinary accident, the scale and destruction of the fire is inextricably linked to the infrastructure of the camp - one of dozens of UNCHR-administered refugee settlements scattered across Lebanon's Bekaa Valley to the East and the Akkar region to the North. The tents are flimsy structures built from plastic tarp that flooded and froze easily in the winter, and could burn easily in the summer. With an average of at least five people living in one tent, and barely any space between tents, disaster-preparedness is not a high priority. This level of population density coupled with any kind of emergency situation means chaos.

No official camps

Although Lebanon is home to more than one quarter of the now four million refugees who have fled Syria, the Lebanese government is still reluctant to establish formal refugee camps, a policy inspired by the strain the influx of Palestinian refugees that fled to Lebanon following the creation of Israel have had on the country. For the refugees, this means that, unlike refugees living in officially recognized camps in other countries, they are expected Refugees pay the high price of Lebanese cost-cutting (Al Jazeera)to pay rent for their accommodations, no matter how ramshackle and unsuitable the structures.

Their cost of living depends on luck alone. While some landowners have allowed refugees to stay for certain amounts of time for free, others have taken advantage of their situation, gauging prices beyond their means. Because of this, certain families have been forced to go back to Syria.

Turned away at the border

However, one of the biggest human rights violations is not happening in the camps, but at the border - where, on January 5, the Lebanese government instituted a visa requirement that would require all Syrians crossing the border to provide information about the purpose and length of their stay, a drastic policy shift from the traditionally open border. Although certain outstanding humanitarian cases are allowed entry, the vast majority of Syrians who now wish to seek refuge from the war must prove that they are tourists, students, business operators or in need of medical treatment.

"We know that people who have legitimate asylum claims are being pushed back," Amnesty International Senior Crisis Advisor Lama Fakih told DW. "This is a violation of Lebanon's international obligation to not push back or deport anyone who fits the refugee definition."

Once in Lebanon, staying is nearly impossible without violating the several restrictions placed on refugees. In order to renew ones residency, one must pay an annual fee of $200 (178 euros) and sign a pledge not to work - an unsustainable combination of demands for most Syrians living in Lebanon. If one fails to renew their residency, or, as is happening in an increasing number of instances, has their request to renew their residency denied by the Lebanese authorities, they have no choice but to live unlawfully - and risk detention - or return to Syria.

"It also restricts their access to basic social services," Fakih continued, pointing out that proper documentation is needed to access education, healthcare, and to approach the police. "For example, a person that is here without documentation risks detention by trying to report a crime to the police." Without being able to access social services, or legally work, more and more Syrians in Lebanon - whether they are living in makeshift camps in the Bekaa Valley or renting apartments in Beirut - are forced to navigate a difficult system as second-class citizens. Although the Lebanese government has repeatedly appealed to European Union countries, and other Western nations to open their borders, allowing more refugees to claim asylum, the international community has so far given asylum to 90,000 refugees - less than 2.2 percent of those living in the main host countries neighboring Syria. Most of the Syrians who have managed to reach Europe have been smuggled by boat - a dangerous undertaking that has claimed almost 2,000 lives so far this year.

With no safe and legal passage to Europe - and no stable situation to return to in Syria - most Syrian refugees have no real options but to continue living precariously in Lebanon.

• Worst refugee crisis since World War II.

• One million refugees desperately in need of resettlement.

• Four million Syrian refugees struggling to survive in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.

• More than three million refugees in sub-Saharan Africa, and only a small fraction offered resettlement since 2013.

• 3,500 people drowned while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea in 2014 -- 1,865 so far in 2015.

• 300 people died in the Andaman Sea in the first three months of 2015 due to starvation, dehydration and abuse by boat crews.

World leaders are condemning millions of refugees to an unbearable existence and thousands to death by failing to provide essential humanitarian protection, said Amnesty International as it published a new briefing in Beirut today, ahead of World Refugee Day on 20 June.

The Global Refugee Crisis: A conspiracy of neglect explores the startling suffering of millions of refugees, from Lebanon to Kenya, the Andaman Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and calls for a radical change in the way the world deals with refugees.

“We are witnessing the worst refugee crisis of our era, with millions of women, men and children struggling to survive amidst brutal wars, networks of people traffickers and governments who pursue selfish political interests instead of showing basic human compassion,” said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“The refugee crisis is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century, but the response of the international community has been a shameful failure. We need a radical overhaul of policy and practice to create a coherent and comprehensive global strategy.”

Amnesty International is setting out a proposal to reinvigorate the system for refugee protection and urging states to make firm commitments to live up to their individual legal obligations and renew their commitment to international responsibility-sharing. Amongst the actions Amnesty International is urging governments to take are:

• A commitment to collectively resettle the one million refugees who currently need resettlement over the next four years.

• To establish a global refugee fund that will fulfil all UN humanitarian appeals for refugee crises and provide financial support to countries hosting large numbers of refugees.

• The global ratification of the UN Refugee Convention.

• To develop fair domestic systems to assess refugee claims and guarantee that refugees have access to basic services such as education and healthcare.

“The world can no longer sit and watch while countries like Lebanon and Turkey take on such huge burdens. No country should be left to deal with a massive humanitarian emergency with so little help from others, just because it happens to share a border with a country in conflict,” said Salil Shetty.

“Governments across the world have the duty to ensure people do not die while trying to reach safety. It is essential that they offer a safe haven for desperate refugees, establish a global refugee fund and take effective action to prosecute trafficking gangs. Now is the time to step up protection for refugees, anything less will make world leaders accomplices in this preventable tragedy.”

Syria: World’s largest refugee crisis More than four million refugees have fled Syria, 95% of them are in just five main host countries: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.

These countries are now struggling to cope. The international community has failed to provide them, or the humanitarian agencies supporting refugees with sufficient resources. Despite calls from the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, far too few resettlement places have been offered to Syrian refugees.

The situation is so desperate that some of Syria’s neighbours have resorted to deeply troubling measures, including denying desperate people entry to their territory and pushing people back into the conflict.

Since the beginning of 2015, Lebanon has severely restricted entry to people fleeing Syria. The Lebanese authorities issued new guidelines whereby Syrian nationals are required to fulfil specific criteria in order to enter. Since these criteria were imposed, there has been a significant drop in registration of Syrian refugees – in the first three months of 2015 UNHCR registered 80% fewer Syrian refugees than in the same period in 2014.

Mediterranean: The most dangerous sea route The Mediterranean is the most dangerous sea route for refugees and migrants. In 2014, 219,000 people made the crossing under extremely dangerous conditions and 3,500 died attempting it.

In 2014, the Italian authorities rescued over 170,000 people. However in October 2014, Italy, under pressure from other EU member states, cancelled the rescue operation, Mare Nostrum, which was replaced by the much more limited Operation Triton (by the EU border agency, Frontex).

Operation Triton did not have a search and rescue mandate, had fewer vessels and a significantly smaller area of operation. This contributed to a dramatic increase in the number of lives lost in the Mediterranean. As of 31 May 2015, 1,865 people had died attempting the Mediterranean crossing, compared to 425 during the same period in 2014 (according to the IOM).

Follow several horrific cases of loss of life in the Mediterranean, at the end of April, European leaders finally increased resources for search and rescue. Triton’s resources and area of operation were increased to match Mare Nostrum’s. In addition European states such as Germany, Ireland and the UK have deployed ships and aircrafts, additional to Operation Triton resources to further boost capacity for assisting people at sea. These measures, which had long been advocated for by Amnesty International, are a welcome step towards increasing safety at sea for refugees and migrants.

The European Commission also proposed that EU states offer 20,000 additional resettlement places to refugees from outside the EU. While this proposal is a step forward, 20,000 is too small a number to adequately contribute to international responsibility-sharing.

For example, Syrian refugees faced with reduced humanitarian assistance in the main host countries and with no prospect of returning home in the near future, are likely to continue to attempt to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe. Without sufficient safe and legal alternative routes for refugees – but also for migrants – people will continue to risk their lives.

Africa: Forgotten crises There are more than three million refugees in sub-Saharan Africa. Outbreaks of fighting in countries including South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR), have led to an increasing number of people on the move – fleeing conflict and persecution. Of the top 10 countries globally from which people are fleeing as refugees, five are in are in sub-Saharan Africa. Four of the top ten refugee-hosting countries are in sub-Saharan Africa

The conflicts and crises in the region have led to an influx of refugees to neighbouring countries, many of which already host tens of thousands of long-standing refugee populations from countries such as Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia, among others.

In some of these situations, as in the case of South Sudan and Sudan, refugees are hosted by countries that are themselves beset by conflict.

The refugee crises in Africa receive little or no attention in regional or global political forums. In 2013 fewer than 15,000 refugees from African countries were resettled and UN humanitarian appeals have been severely underfunded. For example, as a result of the conflict which broke out in South Sudan in December 2013, more than 550,000 people became refugees, the majority of whom are now in Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya and Uganda. Only 11% of the UN’s South Sudan regional refugee response plan was funded as of 3 June 2015.

South East Asia: Turning away the desperate In the first quarter of 2015, UNHCR reported that some 25,000 people attempted to cross the Bay of Bengal. This is approximately double the figure for the same period in 2014. This Bay of Bengal sea route is predominantly used by Muslim Rohingya from Myanmar and Bangladeshi nationals.

On 11 May, the International Organization for Migration estimated that there were 8,000 people stranded on boats close to Thailand. Many of those aboard were believed to be Rohingya fleeing state-sponsored persecution in Myanmar.

During May, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand turned back boats carrying hundreds of refugees and migrants desperate for help, despite the dangers they faced. UNHCR estimates that 300 people died at sea in the first three months of 2015 due to “starvation, dehydration and abuse by boat crews”.

On 20 May Indonesia and Malaysia changed course, announcing that they would provide “temporary shelter” for up to 7,000 people still at sea. However, this temporary protection would only last for up to a year, and on condition that the international community would help with repatriation or resettlement of the people. Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have not ratified the UN Refugee Convention.

Elsewhere, a terrible precedent has been set in the region by the Australian government whose hard-line approach to asylum-seekers attempting to arrive by boat has, under the guise of saving lives, violated its responsibilities under refugee and human rights law.

“From the Andaman to the Mediterranean people are losing their lives as they desperately seek safe haven. The current refugee crisis will not be solved unless the international community recognizes that it is a global problem that requires states to significantly step up international cooperation. Later this week UNHCR will release their annual statistics on refugees and we will likely find that the crisis is getting worse. It is time for action,” said Salil Shetty.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
In Beirut: Sara Hashash, MENA press officer , sara.hashash@amnesty.org, +44 (0) 7831640170 In London: Amnesty International's press office in London, UK email press@amnesty.org or call +44 20 7413 5566 or +44 (0) 777 847 2126

HIGHLIGHTS

• To date efforts to identify the most vulnerable have allowed WFP to reduce its regional caseload by some 400,000 people, allowing scare resources to be focused on those whose need it the most.

• Despite such progress funding shortages force WFP to make even deeper assistance cuts even amongst the vulnerable.

• Evidence finds that affected families are being forced to employ evermore severe strategies to cope with reduced food assistance.