What Policies Are Needed to Protect Syrian Displaced Persons in Lebanon? : Overlooked Priorities

Abstract

This policy report is the culmination of three years of fieldwork with Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The report aims to spark a debate about reforming policies adopted by the Lebanese authorities and various international and donor organizations. It is an attempt to reach tangible gains for Syrian refugees that the Asfari Institute interviewed through researchers from different academic institutes and civil society organizations in Lebanon.

According to data compiled by international, aid, and developmental organizations over the past nine years, the number of Syrians crossing into Lebanon has surpassed the one million mark. Moreover, approximately an additional half a million Syrians have entered the country informally. The ethnographic study that we undertook, which involved 130 refugees, revealed the suffering they undergo, whether they are registered as refugees with UNHCR, or students at Lebanese universities and schools, with valid residency permits.