7_WP1_Lebanon.pdf (original) (raw)
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RESPOND Working Paper Series, 2019
This report seeks to analyse border and migration governance in Lebanon; it provides an overview of legislation and policies concerned with border management and control in Lebanon, by systematically analysing pre-entry controls, controls at the border, internal control regimes, and return policies. Moreover, by examining the role of national and international actors in migration and border management in Lebanon, the report also aims to shed light on geopolitical factors and the impact of foreign interventions to local governance and sovereignty, as well as underlying complex dynamics between security assistance and humanitarian aid in the context of a 'fragile' or 'weak' state. Lastly, the report highlights how border policies and interventions impact refugees’ and migrants’ lived experiences. This report is part of RESPOND, a Horizon 2020 project studying multi-level migration governance from 2011-2017 through cross-country comparative research in source, transit, and destination countries in 11 different countries. It is the second in a series of five1 focusing on Lebanon.
The Syrian Refugee in Lebanon: Moving Towards Securitization
Jurnal Hubungan Internasional, 2018
This paper analyzes Lebanese policy towards Syrian refugees within their country. The prolonged conflict in Syria has generated a large-scale influx of refugees that contributed to the addition of 1.5 million to 4.5 million Lebanon population. While other Middle Eastern countries such as Jordan and Turkey responded by accepting the arrival of these refugees, Lebanon took the opposite response. Through the analysis of securitization theory and the nexus between migration and demographic balance, it can be understood that the Lebanese Government uses a speech of act strategy in conducting securitization. Speech of act is carried out through political discourse and the role of the media in portraying refugees as an existential threat that require special measure to handle them. Lebanon also uses the issue of demographic change, sectarian balance, and the emergence of the new conflicts, as issues that threaten Lebanon's domestic stability and security.
7th International Association for the Study of Forced Migration Conference, University of Macedonia, 2018
Despite the 2011 adoption of a law criminalising trafficking in human beings, forced labour and sex trafficking in Lebanon continue to present a serious risk to all vulnerable groups, especially migrants and refugees. Smuggling has been on the rise since the closure of the Syrian– Lebanese border in 2015. Irregular migrants and Syrian refugees are confronted with numerous integration barriers, mainly restricted legal pathways, costly residency procedures, abusive sponsorship systems and a lack of livelihood opportunities. This has had a tangible effect on social cohesion, increasing tension between Lebanese and Syrian communities amidst an already deteriorating social environment and a complicated political relationship. It has also resulted in a rise in negative coping mechanisms, such as child labour and early marriage. This precarity has especially exacerbated the protection environment for unaccompanied and separated children. Based on primary research findings and protection monitoring data, this presentation evaluates the relationship between legal barriers, displacement and trafficking in Lebanon. Lastly, it will provide recommendations and lessons learned from the OSCE’s ‘Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings along Mixed Migration Routes’ training simulation. This will facilitate a normative and interactive platform for discussion on NGO-state coordination, rights-based approaches and institution building in anti-trafficking efforts. Presented as part of the Panel on Cross-regional Dialogues on Refugee Integration. 7th International Association for the Study of Forced Migration. University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece, 24-27 July 2018. IASFM 17: Whither Refugees? Restrictionism, Crises and Precarity Writ Large: http://iasfm.org/iasfm17/event/session-ii/
Refugees of the Arab Spring: The Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
Refugees of the Arab Spring: The Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, 2012
“Refugees of the Arab Spring”: The Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, Research Paper Series No. 1/2012, Carthage Center for Research and Information (CCRI) of the Lebanese Development Network (LDN) and the Lebanese Emigration Research Center (LERC) of Notre Dame University (NDU), published by the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) of the American University of Cairo (AUC), 2012, [ISSN 2221-3333]. This review of one year's influx of Syrian refugees into Lebanon is meant to reveal the political, communitarian, and humanitarian factors that shape the State of Lebanon's policy towards it. The Lebanese government has lately adopted a ‘disassociation’ policy regarding the Syrian conflict with the objective of preventing the spill-over of the conflict and the destabilization of the country. Regional and international powers well understand the reasons for this policy, given Lebanon's geopolitical situation, its history, and its "special ties' with Syria. However, while Lebanon might be able to disassociate itself from the political entanglements of the Syrian crisis, it cannot distance itself from dealing with the growing numbers of Syrian refugees on its territory. A policy of neglect has characterized the Lebanese government’s de facto relationship to the humanitarian crisis of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Their basic needs for shelter, education, and medical assistance have been met by a combination of packages devised, without Lebanon’s participation, by the UN and the latter’s implementing partners. The Lebanese government has also allowed unsupervised religious charities to dominate refugee assistance, adding to a sectarian approach to the Syrian refugee crisis. This policy is beginning to feed back into the tensions that already divide ethnic and religious groups in the country. Against the background of these findings, this report analyzes the need for the Lebanese authorities to design an adequate refugee protection framework in consultation with the UNHCR and to devise a temporary protection status for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. A new agreement or Memorandum of Understanding between Lebanon and UNHCR should take into consideration Lebanon's complex history with refugees on its territory and the political consequences of hosting refugees from a neighboring state. This approach would facilitate Lebanon's obligation to abide by international refugee protection laws while, most importantly from the point of view of Lebanese sovereignty, preventing a further spillover of the Syrian conflict into Lebanon. Consequently, such a framework could provide a model for an adequate regional response to other migration flows of Arab Spring refugees in the Middle East.
This political brief aims at presenting the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon by highlighting the centrality of politics to the plight of refugees. Having been forced to flee Syria, we argue that Syrian refugees are stuck in Lebanon without a coherent policy framework and may be forced to return home without any guarantees of safety or stability. The situation of Syrian refugees cannot be analyzed without an understanding of the Lebanese political scene between 2011 and 2018. This political brief is addressed to Lebanese policy-makers in their capacity as responsible for navigating every-day politics and for developing a strategy for the protection and return of refugees. The Lebanese government is constantly negotiating its position with the international community, as well as with national counterparts, regarding refugees. Politics continues to be central in this negotiation process and in shaping the response to the crisis. By focusing on the relational aspect of politics and refugee response, this brief highlights the plight of Syrian refugees and offers potential recommendations.