Refugee policies of host governments in protracted refugee situations : a comparative approach to Palestinians in Lebanon -

Abstract

For nearly 70 years Palestinian refugees have resided in Lebanon and experienced increasing levels of legal discrimination, poverty, and restrictive government policies regarding their rights. Similar to other cases of protracted refugee situations, the social, political, and legal status of Palestinians in Lebanon does not appear to be changing anytime soon. Although the political status quo has endured for decades, the rights and freedoms of protracted refugees have not progressed in correlation with their length of residence. Palestinians as refugees and Lebanon as a host state have been excluded from much of the literature surrounding refugees because their qualities are considered too unique for comparison. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to challenge the existing narrative of Palestinian and Lebanese exceptionalism through a comparative analysis of Lebanese host state policies toward Palestinians with three other cases- Somalis in Kenya, Afghans in Pakistan, and Sahrawis in Algeria. Through the analysis of primary legal documents and secondary sources, I outline the overarching similarities across cases, as well as some differences and proposed solutions for a way forward. Despite the unique characteristics of each of these protracted refugee situations, it is beneficial to address the similarities among the host-refugee relationships for further research and policy analysis.