Three groups that made an impact in 2015

Refugees

The plight of refugees from across the Middle East and North Africa has changed policies across Europe, and generating a greater awarness of the effects of war in the Arab world. Images of migrants crossing European borders have dominated headlines for months and will continue to do so as regional conflicts rage. However, the hundreds of thousands of Arabs that have made the perilous journey across the Mediterranean or the Aegean and into Europe now face an uncertain future. Where once they were greeted with open arms, they now face closed borders and xenophobia. Refugees will dominate European politics this year and could even be a deciding factor when the United Kingdom votes on its European Union membership.

Saudi women

December brought a number of firsts for Saudi women. On top of being able to vote for the first time in the country’s history in municipal elections they were allowed to stand as candidates. Some 130,000 registered to vote and 978 registered as candidates, resulting in the election of the kingdom’s first 20 women in local government seats. These included four women in Riyadh, two in the Eastern Province and two in Jeddah and Qassim respectively. Although only representing 1 per cent of the 2,100 municipal council seats, their election was an important step on the road towards greater female rights in the kingdom.

Medicins Sans Frontieres

Medical humanitarian organisation Medicins Sans Frontieres has been at the forefront of efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to some of the region’s fiercest conflicts. Its efforts in Syria and Yemen in particular have attracted attention and offered unique insights into the situation on the ground at flashpoints like Taiz and Madaya. The organisation also helped rescue more than 20,100 people in 120 separate search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean with its ship the Bourbon Argos.