Press Releases

This Protection Sector Analysis Report by the Protection Working Group covers the recent developments in Lebanon, focusing on the period following the ceasefire announcement in Lebanon on 27 November 2024 and the cross-border displacement of Syrians following the fall of the Assad government in Syria.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has inflicted widespread sexual violence on women and girls throughout Sudan’s two-year civil war to humiliate, assert control and displace communities across the country. The RSF’s atrocities, including rape, gang-rape and sexual slavery, amount to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, Amnesty International said in a new report.

This report provides information on incidents of gender-based violence (GBV) reported by 14 data gathering organizations providing services to GBV survivors between January to December 2024.

Since 18 March 2025, the Fataki health zone, located 85 km north of Bunia in Djugu territory, and adjacent areas have been facing a rapid deterioration in security, marked by intense clashes between an armed group (CODECO) and Ugandan army troops (UPDF) deployed in Ituri province.

Nearly two years of conflict in Sudan have triggered the world’s largest displacement crisis. This spotlight focuses on the daily lives of some displaced and pregnant women in Darfur, who face abhorrent living conditions with their families.

Against the backdrop of 16 months of active hostilities and a fragile situation in Gaza, protection actors note a steady deterioration of the protection environment in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

In 2025, children in Lebanon are bearing the profound toll of the conflict that escalated across the country in 2024. A new UNICEF report exposes the deterioration of key support systems for children — such as safe learning environments, and access to healthcare, nutrition, and clean water — leading to heightened risks of exploitation, barriers to processing emotional trauma, and significant challenges to their cognitive and social development.

Oxfam has released a briefing paper Palestinian Women Working in Illegal Israeli Settlements: Dependencies, Exploitation, and Opportunity Costs, shedding light on the harrowing daily realities faced by many vulnerable Palestinian women employed in exploitative and harsh conditions in illegal Israeli settlements, where their rights are being systematically violated.

In 2024, Syrian children continued to endure the effects of the ongoing conflict, economic collapse, and displacement, culminating in the fall of the government on 8 December. The humanitarian situation remains fluid and unpredictable.

The security situation in Syria remained volatile with sporadic security escalations. Hostilities continues to impact Northeast Syria (NES), particularly in eastern Aleppo and around the Tishreen Dam, as well as in Al-Hasakeh and ArRaqqa governorates.

On 18 February, the Israel Army withdrew from remaining population centres in southern Lebanon, while maintaining presence in five strategic positions along the Blue Line. The Lebanese Armed Forces deployed into vacated areas, supporting population returns.

918,769 people displaced within Lebanon back in their cadaster of origin while 115,234 people remain displaced outside their cadaster of origin as of 12 February.

After a 15-months devastating war, the humanitarian situation remains catastrophic in the Gaza Strip. Most children have lost access to quality healthcare, education, water and other vital services.

عمِلَت وزارة العمل بشكل غير علني وبالتعاون مع أصحاب مكاتب استقدام العاملات في الخدمة المنزلية على مسودّة عقد العمل الموحَّد الخاص بتنظيم العمل المنزلي للعاملات المهاجرات في لبنان، مستبعدين من النقاشات العاملات والجمعيات المختصّة المعنية. بعد الاطّلاع على المسودة، نعتبر أنّ هذه الخطوة هي سقطة موصوفة، تنتهك حقوق الإنسان البديهية لصالح حفنة من أصحاب المصالح المادية و”التجّار“ المتمثّلين بمكاتب استقدام العاملات المهاجرات إلى لبنان.

The Ministry of Labor has worked covertly, in coordination with owners of recruitment agencies, on a draft Standard Unified Contract and has excluded from the discussions the domestic workers and the NGOs who have a long experience in this context. After reviewing the latest draft, we consider the contract to be an absolute scandal that audaciously violates basic human rights in favor of the vested interests of a handful of “traders” embodied by the recruitment agencies in Lebanon.

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) is pleased to announce the “Wide Awake Art Contest,” an open call to Lebanese and Tunisian artists as well as artists living in Lebanon or Tunisia to explore the theme “the Sound of Dissent.” The contest will showcase works by those who are documenting and memorializing their communities’ stories in times of instability, resistance, and change.

The World Bank Group has partnered with Berytech and the Lebanese League for Women in Business (LLWB) to provide capacity building in times of crisis for women who want to grow their businesses and enhance their business model, marketing, financing, and networking opportunities, as well as learn how to be resilient in the face of crisis.

عقد المركز الدولي للملكية الفكرية والدراسات الحقوقية فِكر بالتعاون مع مؤسسة المطران ميخائيل الجَميل للحوار والثقافة ورشة عمل ثقافية حقوقية عن بُعد بعنوان " معاً من أجل السلام " بمناسبة اليوم العالمي للسلام

On the occasion of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign, ABAAD, The National Commission for Lebanese Women, & UN Women, launched the “LifeForLife” campaign. This campaign aims to amend Chapter Seven of the Lebanese Penal Code into a law that maximizes prison sentences to perpetrators of incest rape. More specifically, the call is to amend the law that condemns any offender found guilty of sexual assault of a daughter, sister, granddaughter, nieces or any person of whom he has physical or legal custody with a life sentence in prison.

 

Incest rape is one of the most...