Lebanon and refugees between laws and reality. (c2014)

Abstract

The Republic of Lebanon is, by its own terms, not a country of asylum and therefore not a final destination for refugees. However, it has been a host country for them for a long time. Moving from the premise that this country has not ratified the main international instrument that defines countries’ relations with refugees, the study aims to understand why not all refugees in Lebanon are treated in the same manner. The study builds on the international laws and treaties that Lebanon has ratified and which require it to extend certain protection rights to refugees, comparing them to the national legal instruments, to understand what truly regulates the relationship between the Lebanese Government and refugees. It also studies why the Lebanese Government’s response to the Syrian emergency has been so different in comparison to other refugee situations, such as the Palestinian and the Iraqi refugees. In order to understand the policies of the Lebanese Government and what lies behind its decision making, the study delves into the broader political context which relies on the interests of the different factions. Refugee situations are no different. The comparison is made between the case studies of the three main refugee situations in Lebanon, namely Palestinians, Iraqis and Syrians, their effect on Lebanon and how this has reflected on the response of the Government toward them. The study draws on three levels of analysis to assess refugee situations: Causes, Consequences and Responses. By dissecting each case study over these three levels the study assesses their impact on four different sets of indicators: stability, sovereignty; weakness of state institutions and demographic change. Based on these assessments the study was able to conclude that the closer the country of origin is to the host country, the greater the impact on the four indicators and the more complicated is the response. The study encompasses the following main parts: refugees in the international framework, Lebanon’s legal context for Refugee, Lebanon’s political context, refugee cases namely Palestinian, Iraqi and Syrian. It reaches the conclusion that Lebanon’s relation with refugees is truly determined by its domestic politics rather than its international commitments.