SIDON, Lebanon: A spate of armed clashes that began last December is negatively affecting the lives of women and children in Ain al-Hilweh, participants of a conference in the refugee camp said.

Women, children, the elderly and the disabled were the focus of a three-day conference over the weekend in Lebanon’s most populous refugee camp, entitled “Strengthening Palestinian Awareness on the Importance of Protecting the Most Vulnerable Groups.” The meetings were organized by local Palestinian groups and supported by the Palestinian Embassy and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

The problems faced by the country’s most vulnerable Palestinians are also said to be increasing in the camp due to its deteriorating security situation. Other factors emphasized included the general lack of civil, social, humanitarian and cultural rights for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

Initial recommendations included a proposal to strengthen collaboration between Palestinian civil society organizations and develop a strategic policy for their operation. Also mentioned was the need to have a counselor in each school who can follow up on students’ issues, as well as the provision of safe spaces where children can play. Other recommendations shed light on the dangers of early marriage, abused women, and proposed the establishment of workshops on what the conclusions called “dangerous social phenomenon.”

Issam Halabi, the secretary-general of the National Gathering for the Families of Palestinian Martyrs in Lebanon, said the conference was significant because it “is the first time that a conference for Palestinian civil society organizations is held inside the camp.”

Among the proposed amendments to the 30 working papers discussed over the weekend, some participants argued that women did not belong among the group of vulnerable, and that they should instead be described as “oppressed.”