Latest Articles

A Principled Framework for Government-Held Areas

Navigating Early Recovery in Syria

Research Paper
Complex challenges confront early recovery efforts in regime-controlled areas of Syria, where traditional humanitarian aid alone no longer meets the nation’s urgent and growing needs. Though donors recognize the need for this shift, securing adequate financing for early recovery activities remains challenging. Some fear that the regime may misuse early recovery funding and projects to solidify its authority, hampering a sustainable resolution to the conflict. A lack of information sharing and coordination among donors complicate the situation.   The report offers a structured approach to establishing a principled early recovery framework, detailing practical steps and defining strategic roles for international humanitarian organizations and donors. By addressing critical operational obstacles and emphasizing accountability, the report provides a clear roadmap to guide donors, practitioners, and stakeholders in creating a sustainable, transparent response to Syria’s recovery needs.
Cover of the report: Convoys, Cross-border, Covert Ops

Convoys, Cross-border, Covert Ops

Report
Around the world, we are increasingly seeing warring parties systematically withholding humanitarian aid to advance their war aims. This is demonstrated by the hbs-supported report by Emma Beals, "Convoys, Cross-border, Covert Ops: Responding to state-led arbitrary aid denial in civil wars. Lessons from Syria, Myanmar, and Ethiopia". The state-centric, UN-dependent humanitarian system repeatedly fails where internationally recognized governments deny humanitarian aid in violation of international law.

Podcasts

Veranda, a podcast channel that further aims to enhance the goals of the foundation by providing an additional platform for the public in the region and beyond to listen to untold stories from marginalized people and engage in relevant and broader discussions about developments wherever they might be.
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Earthquake Response

Latest Dossier

This dossier is produced by our partners Enab Baladi in cooperation with Heinrich Böll Foundation Middle East Office. It contains several articles that explains the layers of problems caused by the war and climate change in Syria and its short and long terms impact on the environment and economy.
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The Environment Is a Feminist Issue

Truly Indispensable!

The Geneva Refugee Convention at 70

Inside the Green Economy

Promises and Pitfalls

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Climate change is arguably the biggest challenge we are facing this century. In our region alone, climate-related issues that have emerged over the past decades include water scarcity, land degradation, weather extremes, food insecurity, and conflict. Climate change and its ensuing effects are felt differently by various people based on gender, class, race, and national origin. Similarly, coping strategies towards the climate crisis vary according to the same factors.

 

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On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Refugee Convention (GRC) it seems more important than ever, to bring the Convention’s indispensable importance for refugee protection back to the attention of policy makers and a broader public.

With changing global migration patterns and increasing numbers of refugees, the relevance of the Convention is often questioned. At the external borders of Europe, United States, and Australia, the Refugee Convention is being blatantly violated due to pushbacks.

In 11 short statements persons of diverse backgrounds artists, academics, refugees, activists express their support for the basic principles of the Convention. We hope their voices will reach a large audience and hence make a difference.

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Green Economy is a source of both hope and controversy. For some, it points the way out of permanent environmental and economic crises and promises to reconcile – a long cherished Utopia – ecology and economics. It fosters the hope that we can hang on to our current high standard of material prosperity.

For the many who have so far been excluded from prosperity, inclusion is supposed to become possible thanks to the Green Economy paradigm. And both goals are to be accomplished while keeping within the biophysical boundaries of our planet. For others, Green Economy is “business as usual” dressed up in green, which does not stop the overexploitation of the planet and even exacerbates social disparities.

 

Recent Videos

The Lebanese nightmare: Total economic collapse - Heinrich Böll Foundation Beirut - Middle East

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There is a nightmare unfolding in Lebanon. The currency losing value at a staggering speed while thousands of people are emigrating. While this is happening, there are no solutions in sight. The people living through this crisis in Lebanon deserve justice and there should be accountability for those in charge of creating this economic collapse.

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