While systematic evidence on violence against LGBTQI people in conflict and humanitarian settings is limited, local LGBTQI serving organisations and international humanitarian organisations have documented and exposed the threats to the physical and psychological safety, human rights, health, and economic security of LGBTQI individuals as they navigate conflict and displacement. Nevertheless, humanitarian responses continue to exclude LGBTQI people and communities, subjecting them to even higher risk of harm. In an effort to improve our approach as a humanitarian agency to reach, support, and advocate with and for LGBTQI people affected by humanitarian crises, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) undertook research to better understand the experiences of LGBTQI people in conflict and humanitarian settings.

Once every four years, the World Cup captures the undivided attention of hundreds of millions across the globe. It unites people in their love of the beautiful game and stirs national pride in fans and non-fans alike. I am a fan, so much so that today, I rose before 7am in order to watch the first match of the day. But I was not up so early to cheer on Team USA or any other nation’s team. No, I was up at first light to cheer on the International Rescue Committee’s squad of under-15 boys in the Zaatari camp World Cup tournament.

From years of experience working with refugees and asylum-seekers globally, we know that when given opportunity to thrive, forcibly displaced persons contribute to their host communities and boost local economies. However, third-country nationals living in the European Union face very specific challenges and barriers to integration stemming from their vulnerabilities as refugee populations, as well as structural issues and divergent asylum policies at the EU and national levels. As the EU transitions into a new mandate for the European Commission and Parliament, the International Rescue Committee outlines a set of recommendations for a renewed and improved EU Action Plan on Integration. We argue that only by supporting the transition of refugees and asylum-seekers into their new communities, the EU has a chance to prove its role as a credible champion of protection and inclusion.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is launching Watchlist 2021 as a call to action for global leaders and the general public. Historically, the annual Watchlist was a humanitarian planning tool to inform operational preparedness. By identifying the 20 countries at greatest risk of a major new—or significantly worsened—humanitarian crisis over the year ahead, the IRC could better focus our own planning and preparedness efforts. However, humanitarian planning and preparedness on their own are insufficient to meet the scale of challenges we expect in 2021. Watchlist 2021 reveals that the world is facing both unprecedented humanitarian emergencies as well as a political crisis of inaction and global retreat from humanitarian obligations. The international community must take action now, before decades of hard-won progress on reducing poverty, hunger and disease is lost or even reversed.

The Happy Families Program is a parenting and family skills intervention implemented with displaced Burmese families living on the Thai–Burmese border. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and research partners from the Harvard School of Public Health and Duke University found that the intervention had a significant impact on parenting practices, family functioning, and child behavior.

For over ten years, the International Rescue Committee has provided holistic support to survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, delivering health care, legal assistance and emotional support. Recently, the IRC collaborated with Johns Hopkins and the University of Washington to introduce and evaluate another form of therapy for women in need of additional, specialised support, called Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). Here, Jeannie Annan, the IRC’s director of research and evaluation, answers questions about the therapy and how it is helping women in Congo.

The International Rescue Committee’s Children of Peace multimedia exhibition in the Great Court of The British Museum Great Russell St, London WC1B 3DG takes place Friday 24th June 2016 from 6.00pm – 8.30pm. The exhibition features a recreated classroom that reflects the realities of IRC’s work helping displaced children in north-east Nigeria to access quality education. Salamatu Usman Mohammed, a teacher from an IRC supported school in Yola, will be on hand to talk about what the average day is like in her classroom, and answer any questions you may have. Photography and video tell first hand stories of children like Ruth, 14, whose favourite subject is English. Through hand-painting and drawing help us to create classroom materials for students in Nigeria.