Resources

The humanitarian aid system is growing and expanding, and so surely its capacity to meet these challenges should also be growing. Yet despite the enormous resources, in the more complex, less high-profile and difficult contexts, MSF teams in the field have seen that humanitarian responses to displacement emergencies have not occurred in a timely and effective way. This is especially the case in conflict areas. These observations have prompted MSF to conduct this review, to better understand how the humanitarian system is responding to acute displacement emergencies. The review is based on...

In May 2014 the Lebanese authorities put in place new requirements for Palestinian refugees from Syria trying to enter Lebanon. Many of the conditions are very difficult to meet and have the effect of denying people fleeing conflict the possibility of seeking safety in Lebanon. This briefing details the restrictions facing Palestinian refugees from Syria who try to enter or stay in Lebanon, as far as these are known. It describes some of the implications for refugees and includes the accounts of several Palestinian refugees from Syria who have been directly affected.

Research Report | July 2014
History of Climate Change Negotiations and the Arab Countries The Case of Egypt by Ibrahim Abdel Gelil
Even though Egypt’s share of Global Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emissions is less than 1 %, Egypt has proved to be one of the most vulnerable countries to the potential risks of climate change. The most vulnerable sectors include coastal zones, water resources, and agriculture. Estimates show that a Sea Level Rise would lead to the permanent submersion of large areas of cropland in the Nile Delta, and accelerate the trend of desertification that is worsening the...

Integrity’s research highlights that the truces agreed in several locations across Syria in the early months of 2014 do not represent the localised beginnings of a peacebuilding process. These agreements—and the negotiation and implementation processes that delivered them—were not built upon good practice and were significantly undermined by a lack of political will for peace from the outset. For opposition stakeholders, the truce agreements were a reaction to extreme levels of civilian suffering and a military capacity weakened by lengthy, government-enforced sieges. In all areas researched...

Integrity’s research highlights that women’s networks and organisations in Syria are active across a range of service delivery sectors. In many cases these groups are either responding to gaps in services provided by other NGOs, civil society organisations (CSO), or other service delivery actors, or they are providing understanding and access to the specific needs of women and children beneficiaries that other groups cannot. Women’s groups interviewed by Integrity are most active (62 per cent) in the education, skills training, and livelihoods sectors. These areas both help meet immediate...

This report is this first of a three-part series focusing on the current status and lessons learned relating to transitional justice and policing initiatives in opposition-controlled Syria. • Part I focuses on the effects of the departure of judicial and security elements of the Syrian state has had on conditions on the ground currently and on the nascent justice institutions that have emerged in this void (including levels of institutionalisation, Islamic law, and the legal systems currently being debated and trialed in some areas). • Part II examines the variety of institutions and...

The crisis in Syria continues to have a devastating impact on professors, university students, and the education sector, not only in Syria but also in the neighboring countries that are hosting so many displaced Syrians. In this report, the Institute of International Education (IIE) and its Syria Consortium for Higher Education in Crisis looks at the conditions and educational needs of Syrians university students and scholars in Lebanon. “The War Follows Them: Syrian University Students and Scholars in Lebanon,” is based on first-hand research and interviews conducted in Lebanon in March 2014...

موجز السياسات | حزيران 2014
 الانسجام الاجتماعي والعلاقات بين المجموعات: اللاجئون السوريون و المواطنون اللبنانيون في البقاع وعكار من إعداد شارل حرب و ريم صعب
 

Working Paper | June 2014
Climate Change in Lebanon: Higher-order Regional Impacts from Agriculture by Nadim Farajalla, Eduardo A. Haddad, Marina Camargo, Ricardo Lopes, and Flavio Vieira
This working paper analyzes the susceptibility of agricultural outputs to future climate change in Lebanon, and the extent to which it propagates to the economic system as a whole. A methodological framework in which physical and economic models are integrated for assessing the higher-order economic impacts of projected climate changes is used. The researchers then quantify the broader economic impacts in the...

Working Paper | June 2014
Governance between Isolation and Integration A Study on the Interaction between Lebanese State Institutions and Palestinian Authorities in Shabriha Gathering, South Lebanon by Nora Stel
I would also like to thank my supervisors, Prof. Dr. Naudé, Prof. Dr. Frerks and Dr. Van der Molen for their support and advice. I am grateful to the Hendrik Muller Fonds and the Lutfia Rabbani Foundation for awarding me grants for the fieldwork underlying this working paper. Thanks also go to Sima Ghaddar, whose rigorous editing has been invaluable. Most importantly, I am tremendously...

The growing influx of Syrian refugees to Lebanon has strained its socio-economic fabric, piling pressure on employment opportunities, housing, trade, and infrastructure capacities (basic services). Tensions between Syrian refugees and their Lebanese host communities have led to intercommunity clashes, and it thus becomes imperative to identify the indicators of social instability and ways to reduce them. A research project initiated by Save the Children (SC) and in association with faculty at AUB assessed the social psychological dimensions of Syrians and Lebanese relations in the Bekaa, Sahel...

Policy Memo | June 2014
Social Cohesion and Intergroup Relations: Syrian Refugees and Lebanese Nationals in the Bekaa and Akkar by Charles Harb and Reem Saab
The growing influx of Syrian refugees to Lebanon has strained its socio-economic fabric, piling pressure on employment opportunities, housing, trade, and infrastructure capacities (basic services). Tensions between Syrian refugees and their Lebanese host communities have led to intercommunity clashes, and it thus becomes imperative to identify the indicators of social instability and ways to reduce them. A research project initiated by...

Summary Brief | May 2014
National Case Studies on Health Policy-making in the Middle East: The Case of the National Social Security Fund Voluntary Health Insurance System in Lebanon by Fadi El-Jardali, Lama Bou Karroum, Hana Addam El-Ghali
Public policy making is complex and suffers from limited uptake of research evidence, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). In-depth case studies examining the health policymaking process would contribute to strengthening health systems, informing future policymaking and pushing for the use of technical evidence in this process through...

This study seeks to assess the relative weights of economic and political grievances across the uprisings in Bahrain, Egypt, and Tunisia. Highlighting the unique shared role of middle class youth, it contends that these constituencies have suffered from relative deprivation, despite deliberate efforts by authoritarian regimes to shield them through new targeted social protection initiatives. Nonetheless, economic grievances were not always the primary driving dynamic of protests and the importance of the middle classes has varied compared to the roles of the poor, labor, and pro-democracy...

Research Report | May 2014
Relative Deprivation and Politics in the Arab Uprisings by Asya el-Meehy
This study seeks to assess the relative weights of economic and political grievances across the uprisings in Bahrain, Egypt, and Tunisia. Highlighting the unique shared role of middle class youth, it contends that these constituencies have suffered from relative deprivation, despite deliberate efforts by authoritarian regimes to shield them through new targeted social protection initiatives. Nonetheless, economic grievances were not always the primary driving dynamic of protests and the...

The Syrian conflict, now in its fourth year, has taken a heavy toll on Lebanon’s society. Among those most affected are young men and women in refugee camps and marginalized communities. Young people are increasingly confronting violence and discrimination. They are missing out on education and work opportunities. The rising number of unemployed and disenfranchised youth in Lebanon could become a security risk for both Lebanese and refugee communities. A society’s well-being relies on its youth, who can help revitalize the economy when education, health care and job opportunities are available...

أصدرت مؤسسة أبعاد - مركز الموارد للمساواة بين الجنسين ومؤسسة الرؤية العالمية في لبنان دراسة بعنوان "إتجاهات متغايرة ... والحصيلة واحدة": دراسة ميدانية لرصد مواقف وإتجاهات النساء والرجال تجاه حقوق النساء في لبنان. حول الدراسة:جاءت هذه الدراسة لترصد معرفة النساء والرجال المشاركين/ات في سياقها بجموعة من الحقوق التي تُمارس بمعظمها ضمن النطاق الأسري، والتي تتمثل بقضايا المساواة بين الجنسين، العنف ضد النساء وأشكاله، وإحترام النساء وإرادتهن ضمن سياق العلاقة الزوجية (الإغتصاب الزوجي)، والمساواة بين الجنسين في حق المواطنة وحق النساء المسنّات في التمتع بملكيتهن.تمكنت الدراسة من كشف طبيعة مستويات معرفة...

Research Report | April 2014
Impact of Population Growth and Climate Change on Water Scarcity, Agricultural Output and Food Security
This research project brought together several teams from across multiple countries to conduct a review and analysis on a wide range of complex, interconnected topics. Any one of these issues (e.g. climate change, population dynamics, food security and water security) can allow for vast and deep exploration. Seeking to integrate the concepts into unified analysis that is comprehensive and coherent is both exceptionally challenging and incredibly necessary. By...

Research Report | April 2014
Impact of Population Growth and Climate Change on Water Scarcity, Agricultural Output and Food Security
This research project brought together several teams from across multiple countries to conduct a review and analysis on a wide range of complex, interconnected topics. Any one of these issues (e.g. climate change, population dynamics, food security and water security) can allow for vast and deep exploration. Seeking to integrate the concepts into unified analysis that is comprehensive and coherent is both exceptionally challenging and incredibly necessary. By...

Monograph | April 2014
A Preliminary Overview of Policy Research Institutes in the Arab World A Compilation and Synthesis Report Consortium of Arab Policy Research Institutes (CAPRI) by Hana A. El-Ghali and Farah Yehia
​CAPRI started with research on policy-making and knowledge production in the Arab World, then moved into a series of workshops and seminars in Beirut, Cairo, Amman and Doha in which over 42 PRI colleagues from 17 different countries from the region examined their collective and individual experiences and explored how they could expand their impact in society. This includes...