2016 Tainan Deguang High

School Model United Nations

DGMUNIX

Study Guide
United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR)

The Syrian Refugee Crisis

Committee: United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees (UNHCR)
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T
heOfficeofthe
UnitedNationsHighCommissionerforRefugees
(UNHCR)
,alsoknownastheUNRefugeeAgency,isaUnitedNations
agencyworkingforthe
protectionandsupportofrefugees
atthe
requestofagovernmentortheUNitselfandassistsintheir
voluntaryrepatriation
,localintegrationorresettlement.
UNHCRwas
establishedin1950bytheUnitedNationsGeneralAssembly.
Itsprimarypurposeisto
safeguardtherightsandwellbeingofrefugees
.Itstrivestoensurethateveryonecanexercise
therighttoseekasylumandfindsaferefugeinanotherState,withtheoptiontoreturnhome
voluntarily,integratelocallyortoresettleinathirdcountry.Italsohasamandatetohelp
statelesspeople.Since1950,theagencyhashelpedtensofmillionsofpeoplerestarttheirlives.
Today,astaffofmorethan9,300peoplein123countriescontinuestohelpandprotectmillions
ofrefugees,returnees,internallydisplacedandstatelesspeople.

UNHCR - Pathways for Admission of Syrian Refugees

T
he
conflictintheSyrianArab
Republic
,whichhasresultedin
oneoftheworsthumanitarian
anddisplacementcrisesin
decades,hasalreadyforcedover
4.6millionSyriansacross
bordersanddisplacedan
estimated6.5millionpeopleinternally.CountriesintheregionarehostingthelargestnumbersofSyrian
refugees,withsome
2.2millionrefugeesinTurkey,1.1millioninLebanon,633,000inJordan,245,000
inIraq,and128,000inEgypt.
Overthepastfiveyears,thelivingconditionsforSyrianrefugeeshave
comeunderenormouspressure,despitethecontinuedgenerosityofrefugeehostingcountriesanddonors.
Indesperation,manySyrianrefugeeshavemovedonwards,particularlytoEurope.
Inlightofthemagnitude,scope,andcomplexityoftheSyriacrisis,anditsimpactonneighbouring
countriesaswellasthosefurtherafield,thereisanurgentneedfortheinternationalcommunityto
recommittothe
fundamentalprincipleofinternationalcooperation
tosharemoreequitably
responsibilitiesforrefugees.Inthisvein,
UNHCRisorganizingaministeriallevelmeetingonglobal
responsibilitysharingthroughpathwaysforadmissionofSyrianrefugees,whichwillbeconvenedbythe
HighCommissionerandopenedbytheUnitedNationsSecretaryGeneralon30March2016.
Thepurposeofthemeetingisto
exploremechanismsfortheadmissionofSyrianrefugeesthatcouldbe
adoptedbyStatestorelievethepressureoncountriescurrentlyhostinglargenumbers.
Suchmechanisms
couldinclude
resettlement
,whichisanimportantprotectiontooltargetingthemostvulnerable
individuals,aswellasotherpathways,suchas
humanitarianadmissionortransfer,familyreunification,
labourmobilityschemesandscholarships.
Buildingonthegenerosityofsome30countries,whichhave
madeavailablemorethan160,000suchplacestodateinresponsetopreviouscallsfromUNHCR,itis
vitaltoexpandthecollectiveeffortsoftheinternationalcommunitytoaddressthisrefugeesituationand
avoidfurthertragedy.
The30Marchhighlevelmeetingisoneofanumberofinitiativesin2016aimedatcomprehensively
addressingtheSyriasituation.Itwillalsocontributetoabroaderprocessforaddressinglargescale

movementsofrefugeesandmigrantsannouncedbytheSecretaryGeneraloftheUnitedNationson20
November2015inanaddresstotheGeneralAssembly.Theprocesswillculminateinahighlevel
plenarymeetingoftheGeneralAssemblyinSeptember2016onthisissue.

Topic: The Syrian Refugees Crisis

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A
lmost200,000Syrianshavelosttheirlivesintheescalatingconflictbetweenforcesloyalto
PresidentBasharalAssadandthoseopposedtohisrule.Syria'sbloodyinternalconflicthas
destroyedentireneighbourhoodsandforcedmorethanninemillionpeoplefromtheirhomes.

Civil War
in Syria

T
heSyrianconflicthasbeengrowinginintensityandscope
formorethantwoyears.Violenceescalatedandthecountry
descendedintocivilwarasrebelbrigadeswereformedto
battlegovernmentforcesforcontrolofcities,townsandthe
countryside.FightingreachedthecapitalDamascusand
secondcityofAleppoin2012.Theconflictisnowmorethanjustabattlebetweenthoseforor
againstPresidentAssad.Ithasacquiredsectarianovertones,pitchingthecountry'sSunni
majorityagainstthepresident'sShiaAlawitesect,anddrawninneighbouringcountriesand
worldpowers.Theriseofthejihadistgroups,includingIslamicState,hasaddedafurther
dimension.

Current Situation

A
nestimated
9millionSyrians
havefledtheir
homessincetheoutbreakofcivilwarin
March
2011
,takingrefugeinneighbouringcountries
orwithinSyriaitself.AccordingtotheUnited
NationsHighCommissionerforRefugees
(UNHCR),
over3millionhavefledtoSyria's
immediateneighboursTurkey,Lebanon,
JordanandIraq.6.5millionareinternally
displacedwithinSyria.
Meanwhile,under
150,000Syrianshavedeclaredasyluminthe
EuropeanUnion,whilememberstateshave
pledgedtoresettleafurther33,000Syrians.
Thevastmajorityoftheseresettlementspots
28,500or85%arepledgedbyGermany.

Syriasneighboringcountriesarereachingtheirlimits.Theymaynolongerbeableto
accommodatetheflowofrefugees,havingalreadyplacedthemselvesat
riskforpolitical
violenceandeconomicdecline.Thereisanurgentneedforinternationalassistancenotonlyfor
therefugeesescapingviolencebutalsoforthehostcountriesprotectingthem.

Economic Difficulties

I
finternationaldonorscontributemoneytothecause,muchoftheeconomicandpoliticalstrife
wouldbemitigated.
TheUNHCRhascalledfor$3.74billioninassistancethisyear.However,
donorshavesofarcontributedonly30percentofthatgoal.
TheUnitedNationshaswarnedthat
alackoffundswillresultinsevereconsequences,includingseriousregionalsecuritythreats.5
Syriasneighbourshavealmostsinglehandedlytakenontheburdenofcaringforitsrefugees.
Butthisisaninternationalproblem.
Wealthy,ablenationssuchastheoilrichPersianGulfstates
needtoprovidetheirfairshareofassistance.
Thesestatesparticularlythe
UnitedArab
Emirates,SaudiArabia,andQatarhavecontinuouslyfailedtodeliverontheirfinancial
pledges.
Therefugeecrisishascaused
severeovercrowdinginhospitalsandschools,increased
unemploymentandpovertylevels,weakenedinfrastructure,andsocialandpoliticalinstability.

Syriasneighbouringcountrieshaveexperiencedanoverexhaustionoftheirsocialandhealth
services,andwater,sanitation,andenergyshortagesareaffectingallareasoflife.
Unsurprisingly,resentmentanddiscriminationtowardSyrianrefugeesisrapidlyincreasing
.

Role of the International System

W
ithintheUnitedNations(UN)system,
UNHCRistheleadagencyrespondingtotheSyrianrefugee
crisis
.OriginallypresentinSyriatomonitorthearrivalofIraqirefugeesinthe1990s,since2012,
UNHCRhastakenonaleadingroleinassistingSyrianIDPsaswell.Theiroperationsinthefieldcover
nonfooditems(NFIs),shelter,health,cashassistance,andprotectionamongotherformsofaid.
UNHCR
workswithotherinternationalactorsunderaninteragency
frameworkinanefforttostrengthenthecoordinationof
humanitarianemergencyassistance.The2014SyrianArab
RepublicHumanitarianAssistanceResponsePlan(SHARP),
comprisedofUNagencies,theInternationalOrganizationfor
Migration(IOM)andinternationalnongovernmental
organizations(NGOs),assists
9.3millionpeopleinneedwitha
soughtbudgetof$2.27billion.
Theyoversee112projectsto
completefivemainobjectives.Moreprecisely,theywork
towardsthe
protectionofcivilians,theprovisionofemergency
servicesandreliefsupplies,therestorationoflivelihoods,the
capacityofhumanitarianactors,andfuturepreparedness.
Withinthisframework,UNHCRfocusesparticularlyon
campcoordinationandcampmanagement,
protection,andshelter.
InordertoassistSyrianrefugeesfleeingtheircountry,theSyriaRegionalResponsePlan(RRP)brings
together108UNagencies,IOM,andNGOs.Morespecifically,theRRPtargetsrefugeeslivingboth
insideandoutsideofcampsaswellasthecommunitieshostingthem.Throughthisplan,aboutthree
millionpeopleofconcernwillbeassistedinseveralways,includingcampmanagement,health,nutrition,
cashassistance,andchildprotection,
tonameafew.InDecember2013,theUNGeneralAssembly
adoptedresolution68/180onProtectionofandassistancetointernallydisplacedpersonsand
Resolution68/182,relatingtotheSituationofhumanrightsintheSyrianArabRepublic.Thelatter
statedthattheGeneralAssemblywasconcernedbytheincreasingnumbersofrefugeesduetotheconflict
inSyria,andfurtherurgedUNHCRandotherdonorstosupportSyrianrefugeesandthehostcountries.
Additionally,inFebruary2014,theUNSecurityCounciladoptedresolution2139(2014)ontheMiddle

East,inwhichiturgedallMemberStates,basedonburdensharingprinciples,tosupportthe
neighboringhostcountriestoenablethemtorespondtothegrowinghumanitarianneeds.Thisresolution
isofutmostsignificance,asitrepresentedanecessarysteptosupportciviliansandhostcountries,aswell
asarenewedcommitmentfromtheSecurityCouncil.InadditiontotheUNsystemanditsagencies,
internationalandnationalNGOshaveplayedanimportantroleintheSyrianrefugeecrisis.Withan
extensivegrassrootsnetworkandknowledgeoflocalcommunities,theyrepresentaconsiderablepartner
forUNHCR.Amongtheseorganizations,the
InternationalCommitteeoftheRedCross(ICRC)has
unlockedabudgetof$157millioninordertoprovidehumanitarianassistanceforbothIDPsandSyrian
Refugees.TheNorwegianRefugeeCouncil(NRC)focusesmostlyonshelter,education,sanitationand
hygiene.
In2013,theNRCconstructedorrehabilitated249housingunitsand91classrooms,aswellas
101latrinesand200waterpoints.
OtherNGOspartneredwithUNHCRtoprovideaidtorefugeesinclude
SavetheChildren,OxfamAmerica,ReliefInternationalandtheInternationalRescueCommittee.Urban
SettingsRefugeeslivinginurbanareashavebetteropportunitiesthanthoselivingincamps,astheycan
retainacertaindegreeofanonymityandearnmoneyontheirown.
Tobetteraddresstheirneeds,from
documentationtomaterialneeds,
UNHCRpublishedtheirPolicyonrefugeeprotectionandsolutionsin
urbanareasin2009,layingdownanewapproachtotheissue
.Theobjectiveofthispolicyistwofold:
First,toensurethatcitiesarerecognizedaslegitimateplacesforrefugeestoresideandexercisethe
rightstowhichtheyareentitled,andsecond,tomaximizetheprotectionspaceavailabletourban
refugeesandthehumanitarianorganizationsthatsupportthem.Throughthe2014SyriaRegional
ResponsePlan,UNHCRassistsurbanrefugeeswithawidevarietyofmeasures,includingassistancein
theareasofeducation,livelihoods,andshelter.

International Laws
The1951
UnitedNations
ConventionRelatingtotheStatusofRefugeesalsoreferred
toastheGenevaConvention
The1967ProtocolrelatingtotheStatusofRefugees
The1969OAUConventionGoverningtheSpecificAspectsofRefugeeProblemsin
Africa
The1974
UnitedNations
DeclarationontheProtectionofWomenandChildrenin
EmergencyandArmedConflict

Conclusion
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M
illionsofdisplacedSyriansarestruggling,eitherwithintheSyrianbordersorinneighboring
countries,andrelyonthehelpofUNHCR.WithincreasedinstancesofconflictinSyria,the
numberofrefugeescontinuestogrow,causinganincreaseinbudgetneedsaswell.Morethana
domesticissue,theentireregionisaffectedbytheSyrianrefugeecrisisasthestrainonresources
isfeltinhostingcountries.Indeed,Egypt,Iraq,Jordan,LebanonandTurkeyarehometothree
millionSyrianrefugees,puttingastrainonthegovernmentsandpopulationsofthesestates.
Delegateswillhavetoaddressawidevarietyofissuesinordertoimprovethelivingconditions
ofSyrianrefugeeslivingbothinurbanandcampsettings.

Further Research
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D
elegatesarepresentedherewithanunprecedentedhumanitariancrisis.Inanefforttoimprove
thelivingconditionsofSyrianrefugees,thefollowingquestionsshouldbeconsidered:
1. HowcanUNHCRfacilitateaccesstotheirservicesforurbanrefugees?
2. Whatmechanismsofparticipationcanbeimplementedforabetterintegrationofrefugees
inthecampsettings?
3. WhatfurtherpartnershipcanUNHCRbuildwithhostcountriestoalleviatetheirburden?
4. Whatdothepolicymakersshalldowelltoconsiderthesignificanteconomic,social,
educationalproblemsoftheSyrianrefugees?

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References
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About-UNHCR:
http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c2.html
UNHCR-PathwaysforAdmissionofSyrianRefugees:
http://www.unhcr.org/pages/5694d22b6.html
About-SyrianRefugeeCrisis:
http://www.nmun.org/ny_archives/ny15_downloads/BGGs/NY15_BGG_UNHCR.pdf
Pictures:
https://donate.unhcr.ca/

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