United Nations

A study commissioned by the Australian Civil-Military Centre and conducted by the Institute for Social Science Research at the University of Queensland

Following on from the ACMC Australian Guidelines for the Protection of Civilians (2015) this handbook aims to provide the ‘what’, the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of protecting civilians in violent contexts and is intended for people working at the operational level including government, NGOs, UN and other organisations.

The purpose of this report is to identify the lessons learned and emerging best practices of UN Member States committed to the implementation of this agenda through National Action Plans (NAPs).

In August 2014, the United Nations (UN) Security Council declared the Ebola virus outbreak in the West African subregion a ‘threat to international peace and security’. The UN’s request for assistance from member states resulted in the mobilisation of technical expertise, medical capacity, humanitarian assistance, and military and civil defence assets.

Between November 2018 and November 2019, we conducted semi-structured interviews in Jordan and Lebanon, primarily in Arabic, with 100 women between the ages of 18 and 63 (most in their 30s and 40s). Our previous paper provides a snapshot of their personal experiences, showing the multi-faceted reality and diverse situations Syrian women face.

This paper discusses the need for improved understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced before outlining a study that has commenced to understand and improve interaction between NGOs and militaries.

This paper presents a snapshot of what it is like to be a Syrian woman in transition in Jordan or Lebanon. In 2019 we investigated the lives of these women to find out what challenges they face and the conditions, policies and structures that help or hinder their opportunities.