Protecting Syrian Refugees: Laws, Policies, and Global Responsibility Sharing

Abstract

This article provides an excerpt of a report that maps out how the Syrian refugee crisis is being played out in four of the main states hosting the refugees, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey. This excerpt focuses on the laws and policies in the host states and how they are creating particularly devastating consequences for Palestinian refugees. The excerpt sets out the Report’s conclusions and recommendations, primarily the call for a global Comprehensive Plan of Action (cpa), with various components within and outside the Middle East region that build on existing legal obligations to better allocate responsibility for the refugee population and lift the overwhelming and unsustainable burden from the current frontline host states. The conclusions and recommendations combine legal and policy measures that would allow close the Palestinian refugee ‘protection gap,’ stem the phenomenon of trafficking and disasters-at-sea, prevent further fallout of the Syrian humanitarian crisis, and create incentive amongst the larger community of states to intervene to end the regional conflict.