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1. Still Treading Water: Reviewing six years of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism and the dire water situation in the Gaza Strip

Author:
Laila Barhoum
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Six years after the establishment of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM), people in Gaza continue to live on the brink of disaster as a result of 13 years of the Israeli blockade. The water, sanitation and health (WASH) sector remains significantly damaged, with Gaza facing the complete collapse of its wastewater treatment system. The reconstruction process is ongoing, but it is slow, costly, and hampers the humanitarian response. Six years after the establishment of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM), people in Gaza continue to live on the brink of disaster as a result of a 13 year blockade imposed by Israel. The water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector remains significantly damaged, with Gaza facing a stark deterioration of available WASH services at the community and household level. The reconstruction process is ongoing, but it is slow, costly, and hampers the humanitarian response. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely aggravated existing vulnerabilities, including access to water and sanitation. This strongly impacts the daily lives of over 2 million people living in the coastal enclave, of whom 1.5 million – or 75% – have been identified as being in need of humanitarian assistance. Oxfam has recently reviewed the challenges associated with the GRM and its impact on the WASH sector in Gaza. Its findings reveal that these challenges are an obstacle to the reconstruction of WASH infrastructure (including operation and maintenance), hindering efforts to address the increased needs of people in Gaza. Donors and UN agencies should consider the needs of people in Gaza today. Rather than continuing with the GRM, they should explore how they can improve their engagement to be able to challenge the Israeli access restrictions, work towards economic development, ensure accountability within access mechanisms, and facilitate inclusive Palestinian participation to access mechanisms and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Topic:
Development, Infrastructure, Conflict, COVID-19, and Humanitarian Response
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

2. Returning to Fragility: Exploring the Link Between Conflict and Returnees in Afghanistan

Author:
Jorrit Kamminga and Akram Zaki
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Huge numbers of people are returning to Afghanistan – more than two million since 2015 – while the country is still highly fragile, with ongoing fighting and internal displacement in many areas and high levels of poverty. Oxfam’s field research in Herat, Kabul, Kunduz and Nangarhar finds that for as long as these conditions do not improve, a safe and dignified return cannot be guaranteed, and forced returns remain irresponsible. With more people returning on a daily basis, tensions are likely to grow and pressure on scarce resources will increase, exacerbating inequalities in this unstable and fragile country. Sending Afghans back to volatile areas will likely result only in more displacement and fragility.
Topic:
Refugees, Fragile States, Displacement, Humanitarian Intervention, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Middle East

3. Towards Sustainable Food Security in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Strengthening rangeland governance

Author:
Naama Baumgarten-Sharon
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Bedouin and herder communities are among the poorest and most marginalized populations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In the West Bank, an estimated 30,000 Bedouin live in 183 communities in Area C, under complete Israeli control. In the Gaza Strip, there are some 75,000 Bedouin living in 18 Bedouin communities, many in border areas where there are access restrictions enforced by the Israeli army. These communities suffer from lack of access to basic services and are some of the most marginalized in Gaza. Better rangeland management would enable the available resources to be optimized and would increase the productivity of the agricultural sector, increasing food security under the existing constrained conditions. The aim of this paper is to describe the challenges facing rangeland management in the OPT and the possibilities for change.
Topic:
Agriculture, Natural Resources, Territorial Disputes, Food Security, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Middle East, Palestine, Gaza, West Bank, and Irsael

4. Yemen on the Brink of Famine: Forging a pathway to peace. Oxfam Fair Share Analysis April 2017

Author:
Larissa Alles
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The number of people in need as a result of Yemen’s conflict continues to rise, but the international aid response has failed to keep up. International donors should immediately commit to fully funding the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan. As the tables in this briefing show, some donor governments are pulling their weight, while others are not. Aid alone, however, cannot solve Yemen’s crisis or put the country back on its feet. All sides and their international backers should stop the de-facto blockade and the conflict that are pushing Yemen towards famine.
Topic:
Famine, Food Security, Conflict, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Middle East, Yemen, and Persian Gulf

5. Gender and Conflict Analysis in ISIS Affected Communities of Iraq

Author:
Simone E. Carter and Luisa Dietrich
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This gender and conflict analysis of ISIS-affected communities of Iraq aims to improve understanding of gender dynamics in the context of conflict and displacement. The report sets out to identify the differential impact of ISIS occupation on women, girls, men and boys in order to explore shifts in prevailing gender norms held by study participants in Anbar, Salah Al Din and Nineveh governorates of Iraq. The objective is to enhance the understanding of the social pressures women and men experience when aiming to conform to context-specific gendered expectations of masculinity and femininity, in order to derive concrete recommendations for gender-responsive and conflict-sensitive humanitarian and recovery programming.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Terrorism, ISIS, Conflict, Local, and Community
Political Geography:
Iraq and Middle East

6. Now is the Time: Research on Gender Justice, Conflict and Fragility in the Middle East and North Africa

Author:
Kristine Anderson and Henri Myrttinen
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This study examines the impact of fragility and conflict on gender justice and women’s rights in the MENA, as a part of an Oxfam project entitled ‘Promoting the Needs of Women in Conflict in the Middle East and North Africa’ funded through the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It specifically aims to understand how conflict and fragility in four different contexts – Egypt, Iraq, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Yemen – have impacted the realization of gender equality and gender justice in the past several years of political and social upheaval.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Territorial Disputes, Feminism, Conflict, and Equality
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

7. We Have Forgotten What Happiness Is: Youth perspectives on displacement and return in Qayyarah sub-district, Mosul

Author:
Antonio Massella
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The current internal conflict in Iraq, its ensuing displacement and emerging returns, coupled with political and economic crises facing the country, are just the latest in a series of ongoing upheavals that Iraq’s youth are experiencing. This is a grim set of circumstances for any young person, and is particularly troubling in Iraq where pre-crisis figures indicate that 61% of the population is below the age 24 and 20% between the ages of 15 and 24. With the support of ECHO, Oxfam conducted an in-depth qualitative study of youth perspectives on experiences of displacement and return in newly retaken areas around Mosul. The main objective of this study is to investigate how circumstances for youth in Iraq may spur further conflict and shape displacement and return experiences; inform current policies around stabilization; influence the development of a durable solutions framework for displacement in Iraq; and support further development of conflict-sensitive programming as Oxfam moves its response from humanitarian to early recovery.
Topic:
Education, Displacement, Youth, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Iraq and Middle East

8. From the Ground Up: Gender and conflict analysis in Yemen

Author:
Wolfgang Gressmann
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Conflicts and humanitarian crises affect men, women, girls, and boys differently due to their different societal roles and the deep-rooted socio-cultural and economic inequalities which become exacerbated during crises. Men and boys form the vast majority of direct victims of armed conflict and associated impacts like forced recruitment or arbitrary detention. Women bear the burdens of running the households under extreme stress and are often exposed to different forms of gender-based violence. During emergencies, women and girls become more vulnerable as basic services collapse and livelihoods diminish. In order to better understand the impact of armed conflict on men, women, boys, and girls, and the changes that have resulted in gender roles and relationships at household and community levels since the onset of conflict in March 2015, Oxfam, CARE and GenCap in Yemen collaborated to collect and analyse available data to further inform immediate humanitarian response as well as longer-term programming in Yemen.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Gender Based Violence, Conflict, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Middle East, Yemen, and Persian Gulf