/ 11 4. unrwa field protection priorities 4.1 Gaza Field There are 1.2 million Palestine refugees in Gaza, over 70 percent of the total population. For the last decade, the socio-economic situation of the refugees has been in steady decline. Years of occupation, conflict and the ongoing blockade have left the vast majority of the population in need of international assistance. Enforcement of the blockade has negatively affected key sectors of society including health services, education, trade and employment. The community continues to experience rising levels of unemployment, food insecurity and poverty. UNRWA will continue to use its unique position as the largest direct service provider in the Gaza Strip to advocate at international, national and local levels on the issues limiting both UNRWA’s ability to maintain core services, as well as refugees’ ability to access those services and enjoy basic human rights. In 2012, UNRWA will further improve its protection work in Gaza by conducting a protection analysis, in collaboration with refugees and staff, to further identify key protection issues and by establishing an operational protection strategy to address those issues through its programming, using a more strategic and better coordinated approach. Gaza field office will focus its protection within the following areas: • • • • Access – continuing to mitigate the consequences of the blockade through the delivery of services, with a particular focus on improving targeting in order to reach the poorest and most vulnerable refugees and through continuous public and private advocacy to lift the blockade on Gaza Shelter – ensuring that 10,000 families living in inadequate housing or displaced by the conflict receive shelter support, including reconstructed homes. Education – promoting safe and violence free schools, reducing drop/push-outs, supporting children with special needs and overage students to succeed, and equipping teachers and school counsellors to improve support to children traumatized by the conflict. Social services – identifying problems that threaten the well-being of refugee families and society, such as widespread violence, including • Gender-Based Violence, and poverty, and providing targeted, tailored interventions. Youth – supporting refugee youth to develop marketable vocational skills and to be positively and meaningfully engaged in UNRWA services and in their communities 4.1.1. Gaza Field key protection initiatives Mainstreaming of protection and Human Rights in UNRWA education services Several protection issues have been identified in the education sector, including students with special needs, students at risk of underperforming and being pushed out of school, and violence in schools. In order to ensure that each refugee child has access to quality education, UNRWA has developed the Schools of Excellence initiative, whereby UNRWA is working to increase academic standards, improve behaviour, and promote universal values in UNRWA’s schools. Key elements of this initiative include: • • • • • Providing additional assistance to students most in need through its Special Children, Special Needs and Over-aged Student initiatives Identifying children that have been pushed out of school, and the reasons for it Establishing violence free schools through the promotion of Respect and Discipline. Teaching a dedicated Human Rights curriculum in all UNRWA schools teaching students and raising their families’ awareness and understanding of Human Rights, non-violent communication skills, conflict resolution and tolerance. Enhancing the quality of teacher training in Gaza, and improving teachers’ skills to support students traumatized by conflict. The initiative will contribute to UNRWA’s HDG 2 Acquired knowledge and skills and HDG 4 Human Rights Enjoyed to the fullest, more specifically to strategic objective 5 and 13: • • • Enhance education quality and outcome against set standards Violence free schools established. Safeguard and advance the rights of Palestine refugees by promoting respect for human rights, international humanitarian law and international refugee law.