In this blogpost, Haridya Iyengar, Student, Jindal Global Law School, Haryana writes about the status of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey.
The Syrian civil war has caused nearly 4.4 million Syrians to leave their country. The Syrian refugee crisis has brought tremendous challenges to the region. This paper tries to map out one of the most important aspects of the crisis, the legal status of the Syrian refugees. It will be taking into consideration four countries in particular – Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey.
Relevant International Statutes
Before looking at the status of the Syrian refugees in other countries, it is important to get an overview of the statutes which help determine their status. There two major statutes when determining the status of the refugee – The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and The 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.
1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
All countries party to the 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees must agree to three obligations. First, the prohibition against returning an asylum seeker to his or her country if it would cause harm to their life or freedom. Second, the host country must provide administrative assistance, assessment of status and identification papers to refugees. Third, the host country must provide the refugees a wage-earning employment.
1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees
The 1967 protocol relating to the status of refugees broadens the definition of the term refugee by removing geographical limitations. It further includes victims of events disturbing public order in the term.
Status of Refugees in Lebanon
The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon exceeds over 1.8 million as of January 2015[1]. A little over a quarter of Lebanon population consists of Syrian refugees. This has had a bad impact on the Lebanon population due to competing rights and problems with the economic rate.
Policies Governing the Status of Syrian Refugees
Lebanon is not part of the 1951 Refugee Convention or the 1967 Protocol, therefore; there is no law governing the country. The rights and status of the refugees will be governed by the impromptu policies made during the start of the crisis. Its refugee laws are based on its Memorandum of Understanding with the UNHCR, which states that refugees from Syria may not remain permanently but, must be resettled.
Since, Lebanon does not have any domestic legal framework guiding the government on the treatment of refugees there is no distinction between refugees and immigrants. Therefore, they are governed by the Law Regulating the Entry, Stay, and Exit from Lebanon passed in 1962. This law keeps open borders for the refugees. However, the government has recently revoked the policy for Palestinian refugees. Syrian nationalist refugees are given free residence for a year after which, they must pay a fee of $200 to continue their stay in Lebanon[2].
It must also be noted that there is a lot of discrimination between Palestinian refugees from Syria and Syrian nationalists in Lebanon. The list of challenges faced by the Palestinian refugees from Syria are long and overwhelming. They live in overcrowded camps and have to deal with social exclusion and isolation.
Food, shelter, Education and Livelihood
While Lebanon law has no social protection for non-citizens, the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights binds the Lebanese government to provide social protection. However, the government of Lebanon is reluctant to implement these policies due to the tight labour market, overcrowding and lack of funds.
Status of Refugees in Jordan
There has been an open border policy for Syrian refugees since the start of the crisis. This policy enables Syrian refugees to enter without visas. However, the financial restraint, political tension and infrastructure limitation have affected the traditionally welcome attitude towards Syrians. The number of Syrian refugees in Jordan is over 1 million as of December 2015[3].
Policies Governing Status of Refugees in Jordan
The government of Jordan signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the UNHCR on 1998. This agreement binds the government of Jordan to ensure refugees the right to work, access to court and freedom from overstay fines and departure fees.
Refugees after a successful application, are issued a UNHCR card, which acts as a proof of registration and a ration card which entitles them to food in refugee camps. However, the living conditions in Jordan are so bad that many refugees have opted to go back to Syria.
Employment, Shelter, Food and Healthcare
While the MOU states that all refugees must be given the right to work, however, the government of Jordan due to its lack of resources does not issue a work permit to refugees. This forces refugees to seek alternate means of employment such as child labour and survival sex[4].
Jordanian health care and education policies for refugees provide for equal access to that of nationals in many respects. Jordanian schools have started offering second shifts for Syrian children.However, few children stay in school due to the problem of child labour.
The MOI card grants access to government health service for all Syrians refugees in urban areas. The UN and affiliated organisations take care of health service in camps. Several NGOs provide service for non-registered refugees all over the country as well[5].
Status of Refugees in Egypt
Egypt has opened its doors to many Middle Eastern and African refugees over the years. However, the recent economic depression and transition to a new government have made it difficult to keep an open border to Syrian refugees. Furthermore, the overpopulation and underemployment have prompted the Egyptian government to limit the rights of refugees. As of December 2015, approximately 250,000 Syrian refugees have been given asylum in Egypt.
Policies Governing the Status of Refugees in Egypt
Egypt’s asylum procedures are governed by the Memorandum of Understanding between Egypt and UNHCR, which was executed in 1954. It has also accepted both the 1951 convention and 1964 protocol.
On entry, Syrian refugees have to register with the UNHCR to receive a yellow card which indicates that an individual is awaiting residency in Egypt. After which refugees must submit a registration application form to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of the Interior’s Residence Unit for a residence permit[6].
Shelter, Employment, Education and Healthcare
According to UNHCR housing is the most significant protection gap for Syrian refugees in Egypt. While UNHCR has assessed 80,000 housing need cases only, 40,000 of those cases have received financial assistance. However in several areas, Salafi and other faith-based organisation have provided additional housing assistance.
Legal employment of refugees does not seem to be a feasible option. However, reports indicate that refugees are finding work illegally which leads to them being severely underpaid[7].
While the Egyptian government has allowed Syrian refugees access to public school, the cost and transportation issues deter Syrian refugee children. In response to these problems, the UNHCR has established an Education Working Group, its partners and the Ministry of Egypt meet to discuss potential education solution for Syrian Refugees.
Healthcare is limited to the capacity of public healthcare facilities and hospital to provide effective services to Syrian refugees. The WHO is trying to remedy this limitation by increasing its presence in Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, and Damietta.
Status of Refugees in Turkey
As of December 2015, the UNHCR has estimated over 1.8 million Syrian refugees in Turkey. The Turkish government has responded to the Syrian crisis with tremendous generosity. It has spent approximately half billion dollars on healthcare, education, employment and shelter of the refugees.
Policies Governing the Status of Refugees in Turkey
Turkey has accepted the 1951 convention and 1967 protocol relating to the status of refugees. However, Turkey retained the geographical limitation which was removed by the 1967 protocol. Therefore, only refugees from Europe may seek asylum in Turkey.
Turkey passed the Council of Ministers Directive in April 2012. This directive ensures refugees from Europe temporary asylum. It also passed the 2013 Law on Foreigners and International Protection, which gives substantive humanitarian protection to asylum seekers.
Syrians living in camps are free to return to Syria if they desire but, must undergo counselling prior departure and demonstrate that their decision to return was not made due to coercion.
Shelter, Education, Healthcare and Employment
The government of Turkey has provided shelter in over 22 refugee camps and in urban areas across the country[8]. Many Syrian refugee also live in collective shelters, mosques, wedding halls and barns[9]. Refugees can be permitted to petition the government to be housed in a city where they could show they had a family member.
Education while provided within the camps have very few students attending because of the language barrier.
Individual who have registered with the AFAD get free health care in Turkey.
While Syrians do not have formal access to the labour market, the Turkish government has turned a blind eye to informal participation in the workforce[10].
Conclusion
The huge refugee flow from Syria must be shared by more countries. It is important that the global community help contributes towards the improvement of refugee, immigrant and humanitarian policy and law building. A worldwide effort can help prevent the Syrian refugee crisis from turning into a humanitarian disaster.
[1] http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486676.html
[2] https://www.bu.edu/law/central/jd/programs/clinics/international-human-rights/documents/FINALFullReport.pdf
[3] http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486566.html
[4] Needs, Vulnerabilities and Capacities, 2014 REFUGEE RESPONSE PLAN, available at http://www.unhcr.org/syriarrp6/docs/syria-rrp6-jordan-response-plan.pdf.
[5] UNHCR, 2014 UNHCR Country Operations Profile – Jordan, available at http://www.unhcr.org/cgibin/texis/vtx/page?page=49e486566&submit=GO [2014 Country Profile – Jordan]
[6] UNHCR JOINT ASSESSMENT FOR SYRIAN REFUGEES IN EGYPT 8 (2012), available at https://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/download.php?id=1219.
[7] https://www.bu.edu/law/central/jd/programs/clinics/international-human-rights/documents/FINALFullReport.pdf
[8] Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency [AFAD], Syrian Refugees in Turkey, 2013: Field Survey Results, A Preliminary Remarks
[9] https://www.bu.edu/law/central/jd/programs/clinics/international-human-rights/documents/FINALFullReport.pdf
[10] https://www.bu.edu/law/central/jd/programs/clinics/international-human-rights/documents/FINALFullReport.pdf
