PROTECTING SYRIAN

REFUGEES: LAWS, POLICIES,

AND GLOBAL
RESPONSIBILITY SHARING
A summary of the Conference by Susan M. Akram from
Boston University School of Law

Lucía López Vicente

Introduction to International and European Union Legal
Systems
 1. REPORT INTRODUCTION

In this report, my goal is to will try to sum up as well as possible the points made in last
Friday's lecture Protecting Syrian Refugees: Laws, Policies, And Global Responsibility
Sharing, by Susan M. Akram, from the Boston University School of Law. This summary
is made with a compilation of the notes I took at the conference, the presentation the
professor showed and the official published report of the project. The index that I am
going to follow will start with a brief introduction and project goals, then I will show
specific data from the different countries studied (Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and
Turkey). Lastly, I will present a personal conclusion.

2. PROJECT INTRODUCTION & GOALS

This year's been 10 years since the conflict (the Syrian Civil War) started. This has
resulted in millions of Syrians having to leave their country in the last decade.
We will study the impact that this has had in Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, the
countries that have hosted refugees during this period.
This project's research was made in 2014 and it lasted for 2,5 years, but there have
been updates on the topic since then.
Specifically, we are going to focus on what is relevant to International Law, where we
can highlight:
- 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (CSR51) ant is 1967 Protocol
- 1965 Casablanca Protocol
- 1969 OAU Convention
- Cartagena Declaration on Refugees (1984)
- Non-Refoulement
- NGO/INGO
- Refugee Status Determination (RSD)
- Right to Work
- Organization of African Unity Convention Governing Specific Aspects of Refugee
Problems in Africa
- UNHCR
- UNRWA
- MoU (Memorandum of Understanding).

3. EGYPT

Between 300.000 and 400.000 Syrian Refugees have arrived in Egypt in the last few
years. This country has always opened its doors to refugees of many different Middle
Eastern and African nationalities. However, the Egyptian Government has had to limit
the rights of refugees due to its overpopulation and underemployment. Also, Egypt's
current economic crisis and government transition have created a difficult
environment for refugees who went to Egypt during the past five years.
Refugees in Egypt usually have to wait for years to get permanent permission in order
to be able to stay in the country safely. Nevertheless, many refugees get arrested due
to the fact that they do not own the legal documents to enter, Palestinians are the
most affected by this. Since July 2013, Egypt asks Syrians for a visa, they can get the
permission of residence that has to be revised every 6 months, but it is quite hard to
get.

4. LEBANON AND JORDAN

These two countries are in the same category as they share common attributes and
legal frameworks, they both have similar laws and policies.
Lebanon states very clearly that they are not an asylum country since 2003. The
residence permit is worth $600 and has to be renovated, this fact allows refugees to
have some kind of "freedom".
As of today, there are 1,8 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and they are treated in
such a different way than Palestinians.
It is so important to highlight the fact that these people have very limited options: they
can die of hunger or they can travel to Europe in hope for a better future for their
families and themselves, and for them to do that, they have to make huge sacrifices.
On the other hand, a difference between Lebanon and Jordan is that in Jordan there
are vast camps exclusively made for refugees; just in Jordan, there are 670.000
refugees. In addition to that, it is impossible for them to work in Jordan if they do not
have legal permission.

5. TURKEY

There are 3.6 million refugees in Turkey, which makes it the country that has to most
refugees in the whole world. That is why they have really large camps to accommodate
those people.
One of the protection gaps is that Turkey accorded with the European Union that
every refugee who entered Greece would go to Turkey, and they will receive money to
help this happen. In fact, Turkey spent almost all the money that the EU gave them in
help for Syrian Refugees.
Sadly, deaths in the sea have increased, especially in the last year.
Resettlement takes place in the west, it is provided in host countries for Syrians and
other refugees.

6. CONCLUSION

To conclude, I will just like to share how deeply touched I have always been with this
topic, and I had never had the opportunity to study it at such a deep level than with
this conference. It really opened my eyes and showed me that there are always ways
to improve and to make our world a little bit better, from a legal point of view, which I
believe is so important as well as interesting.

We must look for legal solutions to this situation, we have to help the refugees.
Germany has been a role model, as it is the country that has received the largest
number of refugees.