2020 Syria Regional Appeal - Syria -Protection

UNRWA will continue to provide increasingly needed protection services to Palestine refugees in Syria. Protection concerns remain critical across the country, particularly in areas where access is constrained, in newly accessible and/ or areas and camps affected by previous hostilities and in host communities where services are overburdened after receiving large numbers of displaced persons. Protection risks and vulnerabilities identified in 2019 are anticipated to continue through 2020. These include, but are not limited to, psychosocial trauma and distress, particularly among children and other vulnerable groups, including older persons, increased rates of GBV; child protection concerns, specifically violence against children; exclusion and discrimination, particularly in regards to persons with disabilities and increased reliance on negative coping mechanisms. ERWs remain a major protection concern with often devastating consequences. The high level of destruction in Palestine refugee camps and gatherings will see ongoing needs for this population in relation to shelter, HLP and civil documentation issues, while also restricting the possibility of return movements of IDPs and refugees from abroad. In 2020, UNRWA aims to improve protection through various interventions responding to the most critical needs of Palestine refugees in Syria. The Agency will continue to focus on protection mainstreaming, including through area-based protection committees and capacity building of staff and volunteers, with priority given to disability inclusion, Addressing Violence Against Children (AVAC), prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) and case management and referral of high-risk protection cases. ERW awareness raising among children, staff and community members will remain another main area of focus. UNRWA will implement dedicated programmatic activities to strengthen the response to psycho-social needs, foster social cohesion and prevent the adoption of negative coping mechanisms. Legal support will continue to be offered to individuals experiencing GBV through assistance to obtain documentation and referrals to external partners. Protection monitoring, reporting and advocacy will also remain a focus. UNRWA will continue to participate in global protection mechanisms, engage, as appropriate, with the International Human Rights System (IHRS) in line with the Agency?s IHRS framework and, with the support of HQ, interact with relevant stakeholders, including the protection sector of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) at country and area levels. UNRWA will also continue to monitor and advocate for particularly vulnerable groups among the Palestine refugee community, including the at least 40 per cent who are expected to remain in displacement in 2020 and returnees from within Syria and abroad.