Humanitarian Action

This document affirms the principles that guide the Australian Government and its stakeholders in international multiagency response efforts. It captures the best of the learning that has come from the Australian experience of contemporary operations overseas.

The Regional Consultative Group (RCG) on Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination (CMCoord) for Asia and the Pacific is a key forum for supporting and elevating coordination, building relationships, and sharing learning to enhance and strengthen emergency response.

Between November 2018 and November 2019, the primary author conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 100 Syrian women in Jordan and Lebanon – host countries for large numbers of Syrian refugees (along with many Palestinian and Iraqi refugees) – and in Australia. The women were between the ages of 18 and 63; most were in their 30s and 40s. The primary author also interviewed people working with Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon.

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.

The role that new media and communications technologies have played in the recent ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings, as well as in recent disaster responses, has sparked a large amount of academic and professional interest.