ICMCEUROPE WelcometoEurope.pdf (5.89 MB)

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durable solutions for recognised refugees
within limited periods of time.
In Jordan, refugees are considered to
be ‘guests’, and subsequently have no
access to employment or long-term
settlement. Legally, both refugees
and all other foreigners are at risk
of deportation after a period of 6
months residency in the country. The
2003 Memorandum of Understanding
between UNHCR and the Lebanese
government stipulates that all refugees
should be resettled within 9 months
of their recognition as refugees by
UNHCR. 94 Many Iraqi refugees in
Jordan have been displaced for as long
as five years. The current large-scale
influx of Syrian refugees which Jordan
and Lebanon are hosting (491,365 and
572,224 respectively) is presenting a
tremendous burden on the host countries,
and due to these large numbers,
opportunities for local integration are
not available.
Resettlement is therefore the only
viable solution for the vast majority of
refugees. In Lebanon, resettlement
has been used strategically to establish
and maintain a temporary protection
regime for non-resettled refugees
remaining in the country. There is a continuous
need to respond to urgent protection
cases that do not meet criteria
applied by larger resettlement countries.
95 Insecurity in Syria led all major
94 UNHCR Projected Global Resettlement Needs 2013
95 Source: UNHCR & 2013 ATCR
resettlement countries to suspend their
programmes during 2011-12, and the
accessibility of the country and refugee
populations within it remain serious
concerns for 2013 and 2014. Alternative
processing through video conferencing
tools is still ongoing as well as evacuations
to the ETCs.
UNHCR has projected a total resettlement
need among Iraqi refugees in
the three countries of 20,050 persons
- 1,000 in Jordan, 3,515 in Lebanon and
12,800 in Syria. 96 While UNHCR Jordan
is expected to submit 1,900 Iraqis
for resettlement in 2013, the influx
of Syrian refugees and the ongoing
arrivals of Iraqi refugees fleeing from
Syria severely impact on resettlement
operations. 97
4.3. The Syrian refugee situation
Over 2 years of civil conflict in Syria has
forced hundreds of thousands of Syrians
to flee to neighbouring countries. As
of July 2013, 1,846,534 refugees were
registered or awaiting registration in
Lebanon (639,982), Jordan (505,347),
Turkey (428,246), Iraq (159,792) and
Egypt (99,167), with smaller numbers in
other North African countries. 98
96 UNHCR Projected Global Resettlement Needs 2014
97 Ibid.
98 UNHCR, Syria Regional Refugee Response. Interagency
Information Sharing Portal, figures at July
2013
CHAPTER VI CHAPTER V
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER VII