Claims for refugee status related to situations of armed conflict and violence under Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol rela
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ting to the Status of Refugees and the regional refugee definitions
UNHCR issues these Guidelines on International Protection pursuant to its mandate, as contained in, inter alia, the Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, namely paragraph 8(a), in conjunction with Article 35 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, Article II of its 1967 Protocol, Article VIII(1) of the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, and Commitment II(e) of the 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees.
These Guidelines clarify paragraph 164 of the UNHCR Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and otherwise complement the Handbook. They are to be read in conjunction with UNHCR’s other Guidelines on International Protection.
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Carried out by humanitarian and human rights actors in armed conflict and other situations of violence
This guideline (third edition) constitutes a set o
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f minimum but essential standards aimed at ensuring that protection work is safe and effective. The standards reflect shared thinking and common agreement among humanitarian and human rights practitioners
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Every five minutes a child dies as the result of violence, according to a ground-breaking report from Unicef UK. The report reveals that the vast majority
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of children are killed outside warzones and that physical, sexual and emotional abuse is widespread with millions of children unsafe in their homes, schools and communities. Some 345 children could die from violence each day in the next year, unless governments act.
The report also finds that:
(1) Children who are victims of violence have brain activity similar to soldiers exposed to combat;
(2) A third of children who are victims of violence are likely to develop long-lasting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder;
(3) Those living in poverty are more likely to be victims of violence, wherever they live in the world;
(4) Over 7% of child deaths due to violence each day are the result of interpersonal violence, rather than conflict.
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The aim of this paper is to map and critically analyse evidence of good practice in prevention and response to gender-based violence (GBV) in human
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itarian contexts which can support humanitarian practitioners and policy makers to improve the quality of GBV programming in the field. The paper is structured as follows. Following a brief discussion of key concepts and definitions in relation to GBV, Chapter 2 presents an overview of the extent of GBV in emergencies, and some of the challenges in responding to the problem. Chapter 3 then analyses some of the literature on the evidence of GBV programming effects in humanitarian settings, and draws out key lessons with regard to good practice. Chapter 4 discusses some of the key issues emerging from this review, and Chapter 5 concludes the paper with a discussion of the implications of the findings for research, policy and programming on GBV.
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Findings from this report reveal that, rates of early marriage are high, a significant percentage of children contribute to the household’s income or are its main source
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of income, and restrictions on the mobility of women and girls constrain their participation in social and economic activities and their access to basic services. As the overwhelming majority of refugees do not have paid employment and rely mainly on aid and dwindling family resources, the more the situation of displacement is prolonged the greater the likelihood of higher rates of child labour for boys and early marriage for girls.
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The present report, which covers the period from January to December 2018, is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2427 (2018). The preparation of the report involved broad consultations within the United Nations, in the field and at He
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adquarters, and with relevant Member States. It highlights global trends regarding the impact of armed conflict on children and provides information on violations committed from January to December 2018, as well as related protection concerns. Where possible, violations are attributed to parties to conflict and, pursuant to resolutions of the Council, the annexes to the present report include a list of parties that, in violation of international law, engage in the recruitment and use of children, the killing and maiming of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, attacks on schools and/or hospitals and attacks or threats of attacks against protected personnel,1 and the abduction of children.
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A guidance document in simple language for health personnel, setting out their rights and responsibilities in conflict and other situations of violence. It explains how responsibilities and rights f
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or health personnel can be derived from international humanitarian law, human rights law and medical ethics.The document gives practical guidance on:
- The protection of health personnel, the sick and the wounded; - Standards of practice; - The health needs of particularly vulnerable people; - Health records and transmission of medical records; - "Imported" health care (including military health care);
- Data gathering and health personnel as witnesses to violations of international law; - Working with the media
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The report showed commitments made three decades ago to protect the rights of children remain unfulfilled for millions. Violence still affects countless children. Discrimination based on age, gender
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, disability, sexual orientation and religion harms children worldwide.
Key factors include a lack of investment in critically important services. Most countries fall well short of spending the 5-6% of GDP needed to ensure universal coverage of essential health care. And foreign aid, which many lower income countries rely on, is falling short in areas such as health, education, protection and child care.
Another factor, the report said, is the lack of quality data. Governments tend to rely on data that reflects national averages, making it difficult to identify the needs of specific children and to monitor progress. Comprehensive data collection and disaggregation of data by gender, age, disability and locality, are increasingly important as rights violations disproportionately affect disadvantaged children.
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This technical guidance outlines current evidence, knowledge and best practice relating to incidences of violence and injuries among refugees and migrants in the WHO European Region. It highlights k
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ey principles, summarizes priority actions and challenges, maps existing international commitments and frameworks and provides practical policy considerations for preventing and responding to such challenges. Specific areas for intervention include ensuring safe passage for migration; addressing causes of violence and injuries in transit and destination countries, including changing norms and values; identifying victims and providing care and protection; investigating and prosecuting perpetrators; and strengthening the knowledge base. While the main intended audience of this technical guidance series are policy-makers across sectors at local, national and regional levels, the contents of this publication will also be of value for health-care practitioners and law enforcement and border protection officials.
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Managing Sexual Violence against Aid Workers aims to support aid agencies in preventing, being prepared for and responding to incidents of sexual violence
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against their staff. It is intended as a good practice guide to help strengthen existing processes and support organisations as they set up their own protocols.
This guide is aimed at anyone with a responsibility for staff care, safety and security, as well as anyone involved in processes aimed at preventing or responding to incidents of sexual violence against staff, such as security focal points, HR staff, project and programmes staff, and first responders to incidents of sexual violence within an aid organisation.
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This handbook is a quick-reference tool that provides practical, field-level guidance to establish and maintain a GBV sub-cluster in a humanitarian emergency. It provides the foundations for coordination. More in-depth information can be pursued through resources referenced in this handbook. The GBV
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AoR website (gbvaor.net) maintains a repository of tools, training materials and resources that complement this handbook. As a second edition, this handbook provides updates to practitioners on humanitarian reforms, lessons learned, promising practices and resources that have emerged since its first publication in 2010.
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Gender-based Violence Area of Responsibility Working Group July 2010
This study primarily aims to understand how children living in areas of civil strife are denied their basic rights, especially the right to education and protection. For this study, eight districts
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affected by civil strife across the three states (Chhattisgarh: Dantewada, Bijapur, Bastar and Narayanpur, Odisha: Gajapati and Kandhamal and Jharkhand: Khunti and Lohardagga) were chosen to understand the landscape of violence and the state of basic services such as education and protection. This study has attempts to explore the impact of long-term violence on children’s lives and learning.
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A broad range of UNHCR’s key priorities overlap with MHPSS issues – for example, child protection and sexual and gender-based violence [SGBV] p
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revention and response.
Despite all these existent synergies, UNHCR’s current policies and guidelines do not sufficiently link with MHPSS principles. For example, the Community Services section, which is closely aligned to the principles of MHPSS and could be well-positioned to guide the implementation of related programs, has not adopted the MHPSS language or approach.
There are opportunities for UNHCR to engage more strongly and clearly in this field. However, this requires a vision for how the organisation as a whole, and particular sectors within the organisation, will engage within the field of MHPSS activities. For a start, UNHCR can work to improve its understanding and framing of mental health and psychosocial issues, and how these issues fit within its broader mandate.
While the majority of MHPSS activities are delivered by implementing partners, UNHCR staff require familiarity with core principles in the field, such as the Intervention Pyramid contained in the IASC Guidelines, in order to support and monitor quality MHPSS activities.
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Gender-based violence, including rape is a problem throughout the world, occurring in every society, country and region. Refugees and internally displaced people are particularly at risk of this vio
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lation during every phase of an emergency situation. The systematic use of sexual violence as a method of warfare is well documented and constitutes a grave breach of international humanitarian law.
The Arabic Version can be downloaded here: http://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/guidelines-health-staff-caring-gender-based-violence-survivors-including
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A practical manual presenting the specific knowledge, skills and practices that First Aiders should have to act safely and effectively when caring for people caught up in armed conflicts and other situations of
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violence, such as internal disturbances and tensions.
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The recruitment and use of children violates their rights and causes them physical, developmental, emotional, mental, and spiritual harm. The impact on their mental and physical well-being breaches the most fundamental human rights and represents a
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grave threat to durable peace and sustainable development, as cycles of violence are perpetuated. The Paris Commitments adopted in Paris in February 2007 are an expression of strengthened international resolve to prevent the recruitment of children and highlight the actions governments can and should take to protect children affected by conflict. The Paris Principles are the operational guidelines related to sustainable reintegration of children formerly associated with armed forces and groups.
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The education sector forms an important part of the child protection response in refugee settings, and UNHCR’s Education Strategy (2012-16) reflects a focus on refugee education as a core componen
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t of UNHCR’s protection mandate. The right to education for all children also forms part of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNHCR’s Education Strategy promotes the importance of schools as safe learning environments, emphasises improving access to quality education for refugee children and maximises the protective benefits of participation in school. It advocates for the integration of refugee children into national education systems.
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Grounded in the foundations of child centered community development, the success of this strategy will be measured by how individual countries contribute to their child
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protection systems and partner at various levels to combat violence against children. This strategy is a result of a highly consultative process that reached children and youth, Plan International staff, external specialists globally and the paper has been put in place with the joint efforts of the global child protection programming reference group.
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