Ensuring protection from violence and exploitation Child protection remains an important part of UNHCR’s response in the region. Key priorities include responding to the need for longer-term care arrangements and durable solutions for unaccompanied and separated children, addressing child labour, and improving children’s access to safe learning environments. In the first half of 2016, over 405,100 girls and boys participated in child protection or psychosocial support programmes. In coordination with UNESCO and UNICEF, UNHCR continued to provide safe learning environments for refugee children in primary and secondary education, as well as coordinating tertiary education opportunities and scholarships for refugees in the region. In addition, the ILO, UNICEF and UNHCR initiated a regional initiative to promote the inclusion of refugee children in national programmes to combat child labour, developing projects that target the specific needs of refugee children. Consultations took place with refugee youth in Algeria, Jordan, Morocco and Turkey to improve youthinclusive programming and strengthen communication between refugee youth and humanitarian actors. Initiatives to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) continued in all operations, with over 82,000 survivors or persons at risk of SGBV receiving multisectoral services in 2016 in the context of the Syria situation alone. In the United Arab Emirates, UNHCR signed an agreement with the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children to put in place a referral mechanism in support of women and girl survivors of SGBV and human trafficking. UNHCR continued to promote increased access to civil status documentation and quality maternal and reproductive health services for women. In Lebanon, 98 per cent of Syrian refugee births were attended to by skilled medical personnel who also issued birth notifications. Likewise, in Jordan 96 per cent of the deliveries by refugee women in urban, peri-urban and rural areas took place in a hospital. UNHCR also promoted active and equal participation by women in leadership and management structures and equal access to livelihood opportunities. Both in Turkey and Jordan access to work permits has been expanded, as have legal employment opportunities in 2016. Authorities in Lebanon have committed to review its regulatory framework with a view to facilitating access to the job market. Achieving durable solutions Between January and August 2016, nearly 100,000 refugees from the region were submitted for resettlement, including approximately 75,000 Syrian and 6,000 Iraqi refugees. UNHCR continues to advocate for increased quotas, including for those currently hosted in countries in conflict, such as Libya, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen, as well as for Palestinian refugees in Iraq. With respect to the Syria situation, there has been encouraging progress towards meeting the goal of cumulatively establishing 480,000 places for resettlement and other forms of admission from 2013 to 2018, with over 220,000 places made available by August 2016. However, resettlement needs continue to rise globally in light of the increasing numbers of refugees and growing vulnerabilities. In addition to increasing resettlement capacity, UNHCR is advocating other pathways for admission, such as humanitarian visas, community-based private sponsorships, labour mobility schemes and family reunification, including for extended family members, continuing the work of the High-level meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees of 30 March. Mobilizing public, political, financial and operational support through strategic partnerships UNHCR capitalized on existing partnerships, including by organizing a briefing for Organization of Islamic Cooperation member States in July 2016, in preparation for the High-level plenary summit of the United Nations General Assembly on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants. An extraordinary meeting of the Arab Regional 4