Where are the refugees? - Weebly

 MEPC 2020Issue Statement: Refugees in the Middle East Refugee Overview: Since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, millions of people have had to leave their homes, either by fleeing the country as refugees or their towns as internally displaced persons. The United Nations Refugee Agency has referred to this as the largest humanitarian and refugee crisis of our time . Similarly, since the start of the civil war in Yemen in 2015, many others are fleeing the region. These refugees have resettled in countries around the Middle East and often put burdens on already shaky infrastructure. The United Nations has recently created the 2019-2020 Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) with the hopes of coordinating and streamlining the efforts of countries that are receiving these refugees. However, with millions of trauma-stricken people moving to different geographical areas, many people question who has the responsibility to protect these refugees and where they should reside in areas where land is already scarce. SyriaIn December 2019 UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, reported 5 million refugees living in neighboring countries and 13.5 million people inside Syria who are in extremely dangerous circumstances.The Total number of Registered Syrian Refugees has reached 5,664,202 In addition, UNHCR reports that there are:13.1 million “people in need” in Syria6.6 million “internally displaced persons”2.98 million people in “hard to reach and besieged areas” In 2019, there is some question about the extent to which Syrians can and should be repatriated. Currently both the Syrian and Russian governments are suggesting that Syrians return home. A small number of refugees have returned to Syria under localized agreements, however these are not overseen by UNHCR. Some refugees have said they are returning because of harsh policies and deteriorating conditions in Lebanon, not because they think Syria is safe. Municipalities in Lebanon forcibly evicted thousands of refugees in mass expulsions without a legal basis or due process. Tens of thousands remain at risk of eviction.Syrian refugee aid plan UN AND PARTNERS LAUNCH PLAN TO SUPPORT SYRIAN REFUGEES AND COUNTRIES HOSTING THEM AS NUMBER OF SYRIAN REFUGEE NEW-BORNS REACHES ONE MILLION MARK[11 December 2018] – [Amman/Geneva]-?United Nations Agencies and NGO partners today released the 2019-2020 Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), a USD 5.5 billion plan designed to support national efforts in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq deal with the continued impact of the Syria crisis.?These neighboring countries have remained incredibly generous in hosting large refugee populations since the start of the crisis – offering asylum and protection, making their public services available to refugees, and enabling more and more refugees to participate in the local economy – despite the toll it has taken on their own development trajectory.?Nevertheless, dealing with such an extremely high number of refugees remains challenging. Some 5.6 million Syrian refugees are currently registered across the region with around one million newly born in displacement.The UNHCR provides “life-saving humanitarian aid for Syrian?refugees, helping the most vulnerable with cash for medicine and food, stoves and fuel for heating, insulation for tents, thermal blankets and winter clothing.?For those who have been displaced but remain in Syria, we provide shelter kits and non-food items as well as protection services and psychosocial support.”Where Syrian Refugees Are:-323849219075Turkey hosts the largest number of?registered?Syrian refugees – currently 3.7 million.The vast majority of Syrian refugees in the neighbouring countries live in urban areas, with around only 8 per cent accommodated in refugee camps. Turkey has recently proposed to move refugees into a “safe zone” a small area in Eastern Turkey which was supposed to belong to a new Kurdistan. This safe zone for Syrian refugees is considered to be at the expense of Kurdish sovereignty and as a benefit to the Turks who consider the Kurds enemies A total of 15,759 refugees have arrived in Iraq since October 2019. These refugees are merging in camps with people who are already internally displaced Iraqis In Lebanon, the situation remains particularly precarious as most refugees rely on public assistance from the Lebanese government. Persons with disabilities and children are the most vulnerableMore than a million Syrian refugees are registered with UNHCR in Lebanon. Lebanon’s residency policy makes it difficult for Syrians to maintain legal status. Seventy-four percent of Syrians in Lebanon lack legal residency and risk detention for being in the country unlawfully. In 2017, Lebanese authorities stepped up calls for refugees to return, despite the ongoing conflict and well-founded fears of persecution. In Iraq, the economic situation has continued to deteriorate, negatively affecting the livelihoods opportunities of Iraqis and Syrians alike. Access to healthcare, basic necessities, and adequate shelter remains challenging, mainly for refugee families living outside camps. Identified vulnerable households in urban areas received multi-purpose cash assistance, which is used to purchase food, repay debt, and pay for healthcare and rent. In camps, vulnerable households received food assistance. The protracted presence of Syrian refugees in Iraq has stretched the existing public services. Shortage of medicines and medical supplies remains a key concern for the provision of basic healthcare. The health sector managed to bring this issue to the attention of donors which resulted in improvements toward the end of 2018. In education, the lack financial incentives for refugee school teachers remained a critical area of concern in the second part of 2018 and jeopardized access to qualitative education.In Egypt As of the end of 2018, UNHCR Egypt has registered a total of 244,919 refugees and asylum seekers, out of which 132,871 are Syrians (54% of the active population). 21,443 of the Syrian refugees in Egypt are individuals with specific needs. Syrian refugees continued to have access to public education and health services at an equal level of Egyptian nationals. Nevertheless, the government has stretched its capacity to maintain a conducive asylum space and to allow national institutions to absorb and respond to the increasing demand on public services. In 2019 Russia refused to grant asylum to a Syrian national, claiming that his case was baseless given “the ongoing events on [Syria’s] territory have specific characteristics of a counterterrorist operation, not a classical military confrontation.”The US renewed its grant of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to almost 7,000 Syrians living in the United States, but did not extend the status to any new Syrians. It also maintained a ban on Syrian citizens entering the United States. The European Union’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis continued to fall short, with its emphasis on preventing arrivals from Turkey and confining those who do in overcrowded, unsanitary camps on Greek islands.Where are the refugees? Hardships for Host Countries of Syrian Refugees:The number of refugees has destabilized Jordan and Lebanon and increased poverty and hardship in those countries.? The Syrian crisis threatens to destabilize neighboring countries, either through overwhelming their social infrastructures or adding new radicalized groups to local populations.? According to the Carnegie Middle East Center, “…current situation in Syria is the most dangerous and complex humanitarian crisis in recent history, contributing to the fastest growing refugee rate ever recorded… This has resulted in increased pressure on infrastructure, public health, labor, education, rent, and security.” In both Syria and Lebanon, the large number of Syrian refugees has led to competition for jobs, housing and health care. In Turkey, refugees have strained the government’s expenses in providing decent camps and provisions for refugees. More than 1 million Syrians have sought asylum in Europe, as of 2015. Western Apathy?In his December 12, 2018 article, Michael Young of the Carnegie Middle East Center compares the Syrian refugee crisis to the Bosnian refugee crisis in Europe in the 1990’s. While the Bosnian crisis earned sympathy from Westerners, especially after the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, the Syrian crisis has not been able to generate the same level of concern in the West. And this apathy over Syria comes despite what Young calls “an endless succession of Srebrenicas”. Furthermore: Syria’s war has shown that the premise of humanitarian intervention could be undermined by factors unrelated to the violence, such as the absence of identification with the victim. Western societies – which, owing to their open political systems and traditional backing for human rights initiatives, would have been expected to uphold most forcefully the responsibility to protect those affected by conflict – watched as the slaughter unfolded, with many displaying little empathy for Syrians. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, POLITICAL STATUS OF SYRIA : SYRIA 2019/2020 “The Turkish military offensive into northeast Syria has wreaked havoc on the lives of Syrian civilians who once again have been forced to flee their homes and are living in constant fear of indiscriminate bombardment, abductions and summary killings. Turkish military forces and their allies have displayed an utterly callous disregard for civilian lives, launching unlawful deadly attacks in residential areas that have killed and injured civilians,” said Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International. Parties to the armed conflict committed war crimes and other grave violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses with impunity. Government and allied forces, including Russia, carried out indiscriminate attacks and direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects using aerial and artillery bombing, including with chemical and other internationally banned weapons, killing and injuring hundreds. Government forces maintained lengthy sieges on densely populated areas, restricting access to humanitarian and medical aid to thousands of civilians. Government forces and foreign governments negotiated local agreements which led to the forced displacement of thousands of civilians following prolonged sieges and unlawful attacks. Security forces arrested and continued to detain tens of thousands of people, including peaceful activists, humanitarian workers, lawyers and journalists, subjecting many to enforced disappearances, torture or?other ill-treatment and?causing deaths in detention. Armed opposition groups indiscriminately shelled civilian areas and subjected predominantly civilian areas to prolonged sieges, restricting access to humanitarian and medical aid. The armed group Islamic State (IS) unlawfully killed and shelled civilians and used them as human shields. US-led coalition forces carried out attacks on IS in which civilians were killed and injured, at times violating international humanitarian law. By the end of the year, the conflict had caused the deaths of more than 400,000 people and displaced more than 11 million people within and outside Syria. YemenThe Yemen Civil War has progressed in 2019 with the Saudi backed government fighting the Iran backed Houthi rebels. This infighting has led to a significant refugee crisis. In June 2019 in Yemen- 24.1 million people in need; 14.4 million in need of protection assistance; 3.65 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and 1.28 million returnees; 46,660 families newly displaced in 2019; More than 80 per cent of IDPs have been displaced for over a year; 274,478 refugees and asylum-seekers (mainly from Somalia and Ethiopia).Amnesty International, political status of Yemen: YEMEN 2017/2018: All parties to the continuing armed conflict committed war crimes and other serious violations of international law, with inadequate accountability measures in place to ensure justice and reparation to victims. The Saudi Arabia-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized Yemeni government continued to bomb civilian infrastructure and carried out indiscriminate attacks, killing and injuring civilians. The Huthi-Saleh forces indiscriminately shelled civilian residential areas in Ta’iz city and fired artillery indiscriminately across the border into Saudi Arabia, killing and injuring civilians. […]Armed conflictAccording to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 5,144 civilians, including more than 1,184 children, had been killed and more than 8,749 civilians wounded since the conflict began in March 2015 until August 2017. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that more than two thirds of the population were in need of humanitarian assistance and at least 2.9?million people had fled their homes. The WHO reported that more than 500,000 people were suspected of having cholera due to lack of clean water and access to health facilities. Nearly 2,000 people had died of cholera since the outbreak began in 2016. The ongoing conflict was a major factor in the prevalence of cholera in Yemen.?Violations by the Saudi Arabia-led coalitionThe UN reported that the Saudi Arabia-led coalition supporting President Hadi’s government continued to be the leading cause of civilian casualties in the conflict. The coalition continued to commit serious violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law with impunity.?Coalition aircraft carried out bomb attacks on areas controlled or contested by Huthi forces and their allies, particularly in the Sana’a, Ta’iz, Hajjah, Hodeidah and Sa’da governorates, killing and injuring thousands of civilians. Many coalition attacks were directed at military targets, but others were indiscriminate, disproportionate or directed against civilians and civilian objects, including funeral gatherings, schools, markets, residential areas and civilian boats.? […]Aerial and naval blockade?The coalition continued to impose a partial sea and air blockade that was tightened in November, purportedly to enforce the UN-sanctioned arms embargo on the Huthis and Saleh-aligned forces. Throughout the year, these blockades curtailed the movement of people and goods, deepening the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict and contributing to violations of the right to health and to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food. This contributed to pervasive food insecurity and what became the world’s worst cholera epidemic. In March, the NGO Save the Children reported that the coalition prevented three of its aid shipments from reaching the port of Hodeidah, forcing them to reroute to Aden and delaying the delivery of aid for three months. […] Questions for NegotiationAs a result of the Syrian civil war, millions of Syrians have been become refugees in neighboring countries.? Should countries like Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey have to host large numbers of Syrian refugees?? Who should provide assistance?? What countries in Europe, North America, or the Arab world should accept more Syrian refugees?Should Syrian refugees be repatriated to their own countries? 2. The crisis in Yemen worsens each year. As in the Syrian situation, there are multiple belligerents in conflict in Yemen. While part of the problem is internal, outside powers have contributed to the escalation of violence and the mounting crisis of displaced persons. Should nations like the United States and the European Union put pressure on Saudi Arabia to withdraw from the conflict?Should part of the burden on hosting Yemeni refugees be placed on Saudi Arabia and its allies?What responses can be found to the escalation of regional conflicts and the ever-increasing number of “emergencies” in the Middle East?How should nations with resources go about the “triage” of the various crises in the region? Should Yemeni refugees now be given priority over groups (such as the Palestinians) who after many years are still unable to return to their respective nations in the regions?Research links for the MEPCGerneral overview: UNHRC, The UN Refugee Agency: SyriansGreat timeline with research on Syrian refugee crisis (covering the period form April, 2011, to January, 2017) Refugees 2019: Syrian Regional Refugee Response (with excellent charts, graphs and maps) Regional Refugee & Resilience Plan 2018 - 2019, in Response to the Syria Crisis: Regional Strategic Overview [EN/AR] Turkey’s Plan to Move Syrian Refugees: Islamic State and the crisis in Iraq and Syria in maps and Mental Health Needs of Syrian Refugee Children. HYPERLINK "; ’s Invasion Is Causing More Refugees In Syria International, political status of Syria : SYRIA 2017/2018 UNCHR : Erbil reaps rewards by allowing Syrian refugees to flourish Syrian Refugees are There To Stay For Now : Yemen Emergency: Yemen- Internal 2019 Refugees refugee on escaping war and life on South Korea's Jeju Amnesty International: Yemeni refugees on South Korea’s holiday island deserve hospitality not hostility ................
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