Welcome to the GAPS December Wrap-Up

More than 30,000 Syrians have returned home since the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024. The UK has now paused its decision over Syrian asylum-claims. As of December 2024, 6,502 Syrians are waiting the outcome of their asylum claim in the UK. Nadia Hardman, a researcher in the Refugee and Migrants Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, outlined four principles for refugee protection, including maintaining refugee and temporary protection measures.

Nine British special forces troops are facing prosecution over alleged war crimes committed in Syria, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Record number of Channel deaths were reached in 2024. In the new report, Refugee Council has called for the Home Office to introduce 10,000 refugee visas in order to reduce the death toll from people crossing the Channel in small boats.

Women in Iran could face the death sentence or up to 15 years in prison if they defy new compulsory morality laws due to come into effect this week. New laws promoting the “culture of chastity and hijab” passed by the Iranian authorities earlier this month impose severe penalties for those caught “promoting nudity, indecency, unveiling or improper dressing”. Amnesty International have said this legal provision in effect meant that women and girls sending videos of themselves unveiled to media outside Iran or “otherwise engaging in peaceful activism” may be sentenced to death.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield has concluded her Security Council presidency with a focus on artificial intelligence, food insecurity, and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in her closing press release.

Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 71 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on 2 January, including 11 people in a tent encampment sheltering displaced families and the head of the Gaza police force. Israel has also conducted three air attacks in southern Lebanon over the last month, despite the ceasefire agreement.

The army in Sudan has been attempting to retake the capital from paramilitary.  On December 9, an army air attack hit a fuel station in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, killing at least 28 people and injuring scores. More than 26,000 people were killed from April 2023 to June 2024 in Khartoum state alone as thousands more died of conflict-related causes such as disease and starvation.

The UK Government has announced £4.5m to aid Ukraine’s efforts in seeking justice for war crimes committed during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Lammy has stated, “the atrocities we have witnessed in Ukraine are unspeakable – there can be no lasting peace without accountability, and UK support will help Ukraine as it pursues justice for the victims and survivors of these crimes”. These funding commitments are welcomed for Ukraine and GAPS will work towards ensuring this is applied consistently across contexts facing atrocities, including Palestine, DRC, Sudan.

December Reads

Needs Study: Impact of War in Gaza on Children with Vulnerabilities and Families

The Needs Assessment Study of Children with Disabilities, Injured, and Separated or Unaccompanied, was conducted by the Community Training Centre for Crisis Management (CTCCM) with support from the War Child Alliance. This report examines the impact of the war in Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, on families and the psychological wellbeing of their children. It specifically focuses on the behavioral and emotional effects of this war on children and identifies their immediate basic needs after enduring more than a year of war.

A Feminist Humanitarian System is the Only Way Forward

Women, children, people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities and persons with disabilities face disproportionate impacts of heightened violence, growing inequalities, and limited access to support. The current humanitarian system is failing. Rooted in and perpetuating structural inequalities of racism, patriarchy, colonialism, and neoliberalism, it exacerbates crises instead of addressing them. This system excludes, overlooks, and underfunds those on the frontlines — local feminist and Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs). Read here.

Building solidarities for gender justice

Women’s and LGBTQI+ rights are being eroded around the world, amid a rising onslaught of repression. Progress made in recent decades towards gender equality has stalled, in the face of an convergence of well-funded, coordinated groups attacking gender justice activists and the legislation they have fought for. But feminist and queer movements can regain momentum in the current climate by building solidarities as a primary tactic to further gender justice. Read here.

Patterns of harm analysis

On October 7, 2023, Palestinian militants breached the Israel-Gaza border fence into Israel, killing at least 1,200 people and taking a further 251 into Gaza. Israel subsequently launched one of the most intense military campaigns of the 21st century. As of November 2024, more than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to official statistics from the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza. Read here. 

Extermination and Acts of Genocide: Israel Deliberately Depriving Palestinians in Gaza of Water

Human Rights Watch have found that Israeli authorities have intentionally deprived Palestinians in Gaza of access to safe water for drinking and sanitation needed for basic human survival. Israeli authorities and forces cut off and later restricted piped water to Gaza; rendered most of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure useless by cutting electricity and restricting fuel; deliberately destroyed and damaged water and sanitation infrastructure and water repair materials; and blocked the entry of critical water supplies. Read here. 

In case you missed it

The Syrian Women’s Movement released a statement of congratulations to the Syrian People on the Fall of the Assad Regime. “While a long journey lies ahead to build a Syria that is free, just, and dignified—a country grounded in equality and liberties—today marks a moment of triumph and relief” Read in full here.

SIHA Network has launched the “Sudanese women’s stories: From War to Resistance blog”, an online platform aimed at amplifying the voices of women and girls affected by war. Read here.

GAPS has released its next episode of season 3, “Mind the GAPS” for a post-election check-in. On this episode, we are joined by Claudia Craig, Senior Advocacy Adviser on gender justice at CARE International UK and Richard Reeve, coordinator of the Rethinking Security network to discuss whether the UK Government is upholding the promises made. Listen here.

The Taliban have imposed a medical training ban for Afghan women and girls. UN experts have rejected the ‘totally unjustifiable’ ban as “another inexplicable, totally unjustifiable blow to the health, dignity, and futures of Afghan women and girls.. Read the full press release here.

Read Professor Toni Haastrup’s article for “Bridging the GAPS”: Domesticating the Women, Peace and Security agenda: Imperatives for the UK The UK’s National Action Plan on WPS has committed to domesticating the agenda, but what does this mean in practise?

Job Board

Action Aid
Proposals and Grants Officer, (London), 6 January.

Care International 
Senior Programme Development Specialist (London), 5 January.

International Rescue Committee 
Communications Director (UK), 19 January.

Conciliation Resources
Development Manager (London), 8 January.

UN Women
Experts and Trainers Roster (global), 1 February.