Protecting Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. (c2015)

Abstract

The question of refugees in Lebanon is now considered a major obstacle to the development of the country. Syrian refugees constitute the largest number of refugees that have ever come to Lebanon. Among them, children are the most vulnerable category, forced to leave their homes to settle in a country that is not more stable than their own and where they face every day all sorts of violations of their rights. While Lebanon ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991 and its optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography in 2004 with no reservations, many children’s rights are being violated in Lebanon. This thesis is an evaluation of the application of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) toward Syrian children refugees in Lebanon. The study begins with a general overview covering International Law and principles related to refugees then proceeds through all the specific rights of children mentioned in the aforementioned Convention. A case study of Lebanon was done through conducting interviews with many Lebanese officials and consulting all reports related to this case in order to collect all national laws, policies and measures that will help assess the application of CRC articles by the Lebanese Government vis-à-vis Syrian children refugees. The study finds that not all children rights are being fulfilled in Lebanon. The thesis also provides a number of recommendations that could be applied to protect Syrian children from the humanitarian crisis they are living.