MENA region has seen some of the most complex and long-lasting conflicts, which have led to large numbers of people fleeing. In other parts of the region, ten years after the Arab Spring, many countries are still marked by instability. After initial hopes for improvement, many are experiencing serious political and economic turmoil.
Nowadays, Middle East is sadly described as an emblematic region when it comes to humanitarian emergency. MENA is getting bogged down one of the hardest modern humanitarian crisis it has ever experienced so far & emphasized by various crisis occurring at the very same time.
Armed conflicts and economic crises are daily pushing local inhabitants to displacement. Internally displaced people (IDPs) account for nearly 3% of the region’s population, the equivalent of Amman, Beirut, Damascus, Dubai and Tunis cities population combined. Refugees camps happen to grow and with it, the huge number of children deprived of nothing but childhood.
Not only women and girls in MENA suffer from this unstable context, but they also are among the most vulnerable populations in the world, as the region ranks lowest on the Global Gender Index (GGI) scoring minimally on health, education, economic, and political participation indicators. Gender based violence is by far the most common rights violation experienced by women and girls within the region.
The year 2020 was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has brought severe social pain, economic losses, and a significant poverty increase. Compared to other age groups, children seemed less affected in terms of direct health consequences, but they were impacted by the economic and social repercussions.
The pandemic has exacerbated existing vulnerabilities and created new ones. Children are also exposed to a higher risk of violence, neglect and abuse. In such a context, children are the most vulnerable and at-risk population. Children and young people in MENA account for nearly half of the region’s population. Many are exposed to political instability, violence and forced migration. Child marriage, as well as child labour, are both a consequence of poverty. As the unemployment rate of young people in the region is the highest worldwide, they face difficulties to access employment.
General context
Across the region civil society works in a more shrinking space, in the other hand civil society is incredibly active with protest movements in some places (Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, Afghanistan) to express dissatisfaction with unaccountable governments entrenched by political establishments and economic hardship that are often perceived to be exacerbated by corruption, by nepotism, by political mismanagement.
The current situation in Lebanon highlights the impact of a multidimensional deepening crisis with an unprecedent inflation rate (three quarters of the population now living below the poverty line) & fuel crisis having an impact on access to health care and water supply for millions of people in Lebanon.
Human rights defenders and critics face a number of punishments, such as arrests, detentions, online attacks with malware. At times, it is the political context that often provides either a motive or a pretext, with sometimes the excuse of national security being a threat, such as in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco. Otherwise, the geopolitical rivalries providing the backdrop (Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states versus Iran). Or, because of military occupation, such as in the case of Israel on the Palestinian territories; Israel’s fear of newer tactics having a longer-term impact (rise of the boycott movement, growing labeling of the situation as apartheid) that reflects in Israeli measures against Palestinian human rights defenders & civil society.
Covid being a new contextual factor is used to curb freedom of expression. Authorities are using state of emergency and even pushing through legislation to criminalize legitimate speech related to the pandemic or prosecution of people for spreading false news or obstructing government decisions.
In many cases children have been among those protesting and many have been injured and killed in recent years.
Across the region Gender based Violence is one of the most common trends. While there has been a steady progress towards criminalization of GBV (such as in Kuwait last year; and the legislation in Jordan and Tunisia). Despite these positive steps, the violence by non-state actors & state actors continues to be the norm. The root causes are deeply entrenched in the discrimination that women and girls face (law & practice) which has a wider impact in the lack of progress on economic and political indicators for women and girls. Youth unemployment rate continue to increase, which shifts inequality even further. For girls entering the workplace, the significant gains that have taken place in education are failing to translate into employment opportunities. Girls are likely to face major challenges as they move from education field to employment.
Covid 19 saw a rise in honor killings in some places, and domestic violence -like in many other parts of the world- was exacerbated during lockdown measures, signaled across the region by helplines and women’s shelters.
Access to health and social protection (link with Covid-19). In MENA, major inequalities in societies & between societies (richer/poorer countries in the region) have been exposed and exacerbated by Covid and the measures to tackle it. Those in informal sectors like elsewhere in the world without social protection, including so many children, have been very hard hit. Structural discrimination becomes shockingly apparent : Israel vaccination program completely excluding the occupied population. Whether adults or children, the reality of those already in precarious situations (detrimental conditions to health such as refugees, migrants, internally displaced people, detained & prisoners) has been exacerbated by Covid.
Armed conflicts continue to be a current theme in MENA. More than half a million dead in conflict and 16 million or so displaced. Those years of armed conflicts continue to affect civilians in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan. The reality of the fluctuating levels of violence (by state & non-state actors) reflecting shifting alliances on the ground and the interest of external military powers have come to define the civil war in Yemen. External intervention has major impact on the fortunes of the warring parties in Syria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan.
In Iraq for instance, the formation of a new government in May 2020 ended months of political deadlock, but fiscal pressures, political rivalries, and limited institutional capacity present serious hurdles to reforms—such as strengthening governance and tackling corruption—that remain critical to long-term stability in Iraq and regionally. Upcoming parliamentary elections to be held in October 2021, the announced withdrawal of US forces by the end of the year & the ever-present threat of ISIS make Iraq stability an uncertain bet.
When it comes to Afghanistan, following US troops withdrawal, the speed of Taliban’s territorial gains and the official collapse of both the ANDSF and Afghan government (15th of August 2021) has been a worldwide surprise. The speed of Afghan government’s collapse threatens a mass exodus of refugees from Afghanistan and has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis. Many concerns are now waiting for clearance, such as women rights and countless other threats.
Unlawful attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, with children being among the victims. Restriction on humanitarian access being a major tactic for some actors that exacerbate socio-economic hardship, affecting the access of civilians to basic services, children, women and girls paying the highest price. There is the emerging of a lost generation of conflict scarred children without access to education nor adequate health care, which is an immediate risk to their future (socio-economic indicators/ radicalization).
Climate related issues will be another cause for escalation of conflict and lack of development, MENA being one of the most water scarce (15 most water scarce countries in the world).
Accountability remains a distant dream for many. However, unaccountable regimes
are being challenged by younger generations, leading to change in the longer term (even if forces of repression will slow the speed of that change and cause violations in the short term).
Longer term trend towards gender equality seems unstoppable even if heavily resisted by entrenched obviously patriarchal and conservative forces.