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2025, Beyond Borders, Beyond Crisis: The Experience of Foreign Nationals in Lebanon During War Times
This publication examines the challenges faced by diverse groups, including migrant workers (MWs), expatriates, and dual-nationals, and offers recommendations for enhancing support and protection in future impending crises in the region through: - Highlighting the roles of government agencies in Lebanon and abroad, as well as a wide array of civil society players, and the foreign nationals themselves, in preparing for and carrying out the relocation of foreign nationals; - Learning from the experiences of the fall of 2024, and before that of the “War in 2006”, to be better prepared for possible future crises and wars. Based on an extensive, daily monitoring of the media and expert reports, this publication includes recommendations on how improving the legal status of MWs, ending of the ‘Kafala’ (guardianship) system or unfree-labor system, creating a multi-stakeholder group (MSG) approach to emergency relief mechanisms, and finally developing a comprehensive post-evacuation and safe haven system to support evacuees upon arrival in their home countries.
This case study on migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in Lebanon has been conducted for the EU-funded project ‘Migrants in Countries in Crisis: Supporting an Evidence-Based Approach for Effective and Cooperative State Action’. Six case studies have been prepared for this project, to provide detailed information on the impacts of crises on migrants, particularly in the longer-term. For this case study on Lebanon, we have adopted a two-pronged approach. First, we examine the impact of the July-August 2006 war on MDWs in the country at the time, to analyse how domestic workers and other relevant governmental and civil society actors responded to MDWs’ needs during the crisis, and lessons learned as a result of this crisis. Nonetheless, MDWs themselves do not identify the 2006 war as a significant crisis for them, and Lebanon is currently in the midst of dealing with a humanitarian crisis due to the large number of Syrian refugees they are now hosting, some of whom have entered into domestic work. Therefore, as a second line of inquiry, we analyse the significance of ‘everyday crises’ in reference to acute humanitarian crises, where inequalities and abuse experienced by MDWs in the country can become exacerbated in a crisis situation.
in "Migrants in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR): Practices for Inclusion", IOM-Council of Europe, 2017
In today’s increasingly globalized and mobile societies, internal and international migrants, refugees and asylum seekers represent a significant share of the population of cities and countries. This publication presents experiences from researchers and practitioners from a variety of geographical contexts on how they have been included and have participated in disaster prevention, preparedness, response and recovery activities. It aims to highlight the importance and benefits of, as well as options for, integrating migrants into decision-making, policy-setting and implementation of disaster risk reduction initiatives. This publication builds upon the knowledge and experiences gathered through the Migrants In Countries In Crisis (MICIC) Initiative, a global state-led process for which IOM has been serving as Secretariat, and the Council of Europe’s EUR-OPA programme on “Migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in the context of major risks prevention and management”.
Al Rawiya Magazine, 2024
The ongoing escalation of violence between Israel and Hezbollah, particularly the surge in Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon, is amplifying the precarity faced by the country's most vulnerable groups. Among these are refugees and migrant workers, who, alongside Lebanese citizens, are struggling to survive amid the relentless attacks. Since October 2023, an estimated one million people have been displaced, and over 2,300 have been killed. The looming threat of a full-scale ground invasion adds an additional layer of fear and uncertainty for all residents of Lebanon.
2024
A needs assessment to better understand the scope, needs, and capacities of migrant communities in Lebanon. This comprehensive analysis aimed to inform the design of civil society's community-based migrant projects, lay the foundation for ongoing research on community issues, and establish basic directions for advocacy on relevant topics.
Jesuit Refugee Service, 2024
While a focus on Syrian refugees often dominates western images of migration in Lebanon, it captures only part of the country's current context. Increasingly, migrants from Africa, Southern Asia, and the Pacific have fought to make themselves, their struggles and victories, more visible in governmental, humanitarian, activist, and academic circles focused on Lebanon's migratory reality. Domestic workers, African refugees, and transit migrations. The categories "migrant" and "migrant worker" in Lebanon often function as catchalls, referring primarily to migrants who are not
Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration, 2021
This political brief aims at presenting the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon by highlighting the centrality of politics to the plight of refugees. Having been forced to flee Syria, we argue that Syrian refugees are stuck in Lebanon without a coherent policy framework and may be forced to return home without any guarantees of safety or stability. The situation of Syrian refugees cannot be analyzed without an understanding of the Lebanese political scene between 2011 and 2018. This political brief is addressed to Lebanese policy-makers in their capacity as responsible for navigating every-day politics and for developing a strategy for the protection and return of refugees. The Lebanese government is constantly negotiating its position with the international community, as well as with national counterparts, regarding refugees. Politics continues to be central in this negotiation process and in shaping the response to the crisis. By focusing on the relational aspect of politics and refugee response, this brief highlights the plight of Syrian refugees and offers potential recommendations.
Lebanon's plummeting economic crisis has put Syrian refugees in a precarious condition. The cycle of dispossession, exile, and persecution continues to permeate the lives of Syrian refugees who are sprinkled across the region and live in a constant state of fear. Freelance Journalist, Mikail Malik speaks to those on the ground to get a clearer picture of what is at stake for Syrians and the region at large.
2006
in 1998. It focuses on the Mediterranean region. The Mediterranean Programme engages in research with the twin aims of: a) generating intellectually excellent scholarly work; and b) contributing to the general policy debate relating to the flows of persons, goods and ideas between and within the Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Mediterranean areas. The Mediterranean Programme and its activities have been financed by: Capitalia,
2021
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This report aims to provide a contextual understanding of migration governance in the Lebanese context, as well as its implications for refugees and migrants. Towards this end, this report provides an overview of the legal and policy framework in Lebanon, notably within the context of the Syrian refugee crisis erupting in 2011. Moreover, the report critically evaluates the legal statuses – if any – pertaining to ‘asylum seekers’, ‘refugees’, and ‘migrants’ on the one hand, and the role of state and non-state actors on the other. Lastly, the report highlights a tendency to increased securitization of migration in the country. This report is part of RESPOND, a Horizon 2020 project studying multi-level migration governance from 2011-2017 through cross-country comparative research in source, transit, and destination countries in 11 different countries. It is the first in a series of five in the Lebanese context.
Refugees of the Arab Spring: The Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, 2012
“Refugees of the Arab Spring”: The Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, Research Paper Series No. 1/2012, Carthage Center for Research and Information (CCRI) of the Lebanese Development Network (LDN) and the Lebanese Emigration Research Center (LERC) of Notre Dame University (NDU), published by the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) of the American University of Cairo (AUC), 2012, [ISSN 2221-3333]. This review of one year's influx of Syrian refugees into Lebanon is meant to reveal the political, communitarian, and humanitarian factors that shape the State of Lebanon's policy towards it. The Lebanese government has lately adopted a ‘disassociation’ policy regarding the Syrian conflict with the objective of preventing the spill-over of the conflict and the destabilization of the country. Regional and international powers well understand the reasons for this policy, given Lebanon's geopolitical situation, its history, and its "special ties' with Syria. However, while Lebanon might be able to disassociate itself from the political entanglements of the Syrian crisis, it cannot distance itself from dealing with the growing numbers of Syrian refugees on its territory. A policy of neglect has characterized the Lebanese government’s de facto relationship to the humanitarian crisis of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Their basic needs for shelter, education, and medical assistance have been met by a combination of packages devised, without Lebanon’s participation, by the UN and the latter’s implementing partners. The Lebanese government has also allowed unsupervised religious charities to dominate refugee assistance, adding to a sectarian approach to the Syrian refugee crisis. This policy is beginning to feed back into the tensions that already divide ethnic and religious groups in the country. Against the background of these findings, this report analyzes the need for the Lebanese authorities to design an adequate refugee protection framework in consultation with the UNHCR and to devise a temporary protection status for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. A new agreement or Memorandum of Understanding between Lebanon and UNHCR should take into consideration Lebanon's complex history with refugees on its territory and the political consequences of hosting refugees from a neighboring state. This approach would facilitate Lebanon's obligation to abide by international refugee protection laws while, most importantly from the point of view of Lebanese sovereignty, preventing a further spillover of the Syrian conflict into Lebanon. Consequently, such a framework could provide a model for an adequate regional response to other migration flows of Arab Spring refugees in the Middle East.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2017
HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.
Journal on Migration and Human Security, 2017
Between 2011 and 2015, Lebanon received over one million Syrian refugees. There is no country in the world that has taken in as many refugees in proportion to its size: by 2015, one in four of its residents was a refugee from Syria. Already beset, prior to the Syrian crisis, by political divisions, insecure borders, severely strained infrastructure, and overstretched public services, the mass influx of refugees further taxed the country. That Lebanon withstood what is often characterized as an existential threat is primarily due to the remarkable resilience of the Lebanese people. It is also due to the unprecedented levels of humanitarian funding that the international community provided to support refugees and the communities that hosted them. UN, international, and national partners scaled up more than a hundred-fold to meet ever-burgeoning needs and creatively endeavored to meet challenges on the ground. And while the refugee response was not perfect, and funding fell well below needs, thousands of lives were saved, protection was extended, essential services were provided, and efforts were made to improve through education the future prospects of the close to half-a-million refugee children residing in Lebanon. This paper examines what worked well and where the refugee response stumbled, focusing on areas where improved efforts in planning, delivery, coordination, innovation, funding, and partnerships can enhance future emergency responses.
Situation Report on International Migration 2021 Building forward better for migrants and refugees in the Arab region, 2021
This examines some of the structural challenges experienced by migrant workers (and refugee workers2) prior to, as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic. It assesses the structural barriers that they have faced in distinct forms based on their gender, age, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, socio-economic status, education, employment, specialization/areas of expertise, religious backgrounds, and other power relations. The chapter reveals the current and emerging challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have disproportionately impacted migrant workers and refugee communities across the Arab Region.
Mixed Migration Review, Mixed Migration Centre, 2023
Amid an unprecedented power vacuum and a dire cost-of-living crisis in the world's most expansive host of refugees, it is essential to urgently consider how to better integrate refugees and migrants into Lebanon's labour force and to acknowledge their positive impact on the country's economy.
(ENGLISH) This thesis project focused on exploring protracted impediments among Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and examined the varying perspectives among stakeholders in the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon, looking at the international significance of their current public discourse and its consequent implications. This project was conducted with the purpose of contributing to the existing literature, but most importantly, it was conducted with the hopes of contributing to the stabilization phase being carried out by several organizational partnerships on the ground by providing relevant information focused on sustainability, capacity building and nonsectarian approaches. Notably, this project hopes to expose impediments in overlooked unofficial settlements in the Tamnine el Fawka Area, settlement #53415-01-007 and settlement #53415-01-011 in the Beqaa Valley Province, Lebanon. The information collected in this project was obtained through interviews, focus groups and an extensive observation process for four months throughout Lebanese territory. Funded by the UO Sandra Morgen Fellowship.
Respond Migration, Uppsala University, 2021
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