The particular challenge of protecting and assisting people inside Syria<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n- All parties to the armed conflict should comply with the basic principles of international humanitarian law and uphold basic, internationally-recognized human rights.<\/li>\n
- The U.N. Security Council should develop strongly-worded resolutions to support the necessary access for humanitarian assistance operations inside Syria including expanding cross-border operations and supporting the use of humanitarian \u2018corridors\u2019 and humanitarian \u2018pauses\u2019 to enable aid to be delivered to those in need.<\/li>\n
- If the Security Council is unable to act on the issue of humanitarian access, the U.N. General Assembly should take a more active role.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"\"](\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\")
<\/p>\n
Humanitarian Assistance to displaced persons and affected communities<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n- International agencies must continue to affirm the humanitarian and non-political nature of assistance.\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
- Assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) should be improved and increased, particularly for those living outside of camps.\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
- Governments, international agencies and civil society groups should prioritize education and gender-sensitive programming that have long-term implications for the future of the region.\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
- Governments should be supported to preserve asylum space in the region, including through assistance to affected communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Creation of a Regional Crisis<\/h2>\n
Governments in the region \u2014 those of Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt \u2014 initially responded with generosity and solidarity to the arrival of refugees on their borders. Although all of the governments have imposed restrictions on entry of one kind or another, they deserve recognition and appreciation for their policies of openness and welcome to refugees. Governments hosting the region\u2019s two million registered refugees need support to defray some of the costs they have born in allowing the refugees to enter and in providing for at least some of their basic necessities. As we discuss in this policy brief, the presence of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries incurs not only financial costs, but also presents political dilemmas for the host governments, particularly in their relationships with other countries in the region and in addressing the ethnic and sectarian balance in their own countries.<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\nPlanning for Protracted Displacement<\/h2>\n\n- Plans need to be made now for the likelihood that displacement will be protracted\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
- Development actors, including international agencies, bilateral aid agencies and regional bodies should become fully engaged in addressing both the present needs of the displaced and the communities which host them and in seeking solutions.\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
- Discussions should begin now about the eventual establishment of an international mechanism to support solutions for displacement in and from Syria.\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
Given the lack of political solutions in the immediate future, serious efforts need to be made to look beyond the daunting challenges of responding to the needs of the over six million displaced persons and to consider steps that can be taken now to support refugees and IDPs to find solutions in the future.<\/p>\n
- \n
- All parties to the armed conflict should comply with the basic principles of international humanitarian law and uphold basic, internationally-recognized human rights.<\/li>\n
- The U.N. Security Council should develop strongly-worded resolutions to support the necessary access for humanitarian assistance operations inside Syria including expanding cross-border operations and supporting the use of humanitarian \u2018corridors\u2019 and humanitarian \u2018pauses\u2019 to enable aid to be delivered to those in need.<\/li>\n
- If the Security Council is unable to act on the issue of humanitarian access, the U.N. General Assembly should take a more active role.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
Humanitarian Assistance to displaced persons and affected communities<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n- \n
- International agencies must continue to affirm the humanitarian and non-political nature of assistance.\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
- Assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) should be improved and increased, particularly for those living outside of camps.\n
<\/div>\n<\/li>\n- Governments, international agencies and civil society groups should prioritize education and gender-sensitive programming that have long-term implications for the future of the region.\n
<\/div>\n<\/li>\n- Governments should be supported to preserve asylum space in the region, including through assistance to affected communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Creation of a Regional Crisis<\/h2>\n
Governments in the region \u2014 those of Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt \u2014 initially responded with generosity and solidarity to the arrival of refugees on their borders. Although all of the governments have imposed restrictions on entry of one kind or another, they deserve recognition and appreciation for their policies of openness and welcome to refugees. Governments hosting the region\u2019s two million registered refugees need support to defray some of the costs they have born in allowing the refugees to enter and in providing for at least some of their basic necessities. As we discuss in this policy brief, the presence of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries incurs not only financial costs, but also presents political dilemmas for the host governments, particularly in their relationships with other countries in the region and in addressing the ethnic and sectarian balance in their own countries.<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\nPlanning for Protracted Displacement<\/h2>\n
- \n
- Plans need to be made now for the likelihood that displacement will be protracted\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
- Development actors, including international agencies, bilateral aid agencies and regional bodies should become fully engaged in addressing both the present needs of the displaced and the communities which host them and in seeking solutions.\n
<\/div>\n<\/li>\n- Discussions should begin now about the eventual establishment of an international mechanism to support solutions for displacement in and from Syria.\n
<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nConclusion<\/h2>\n
Given the lack of political solutions in the immediate future, serious efforts need to be made to look beyond the daunting challenges of responding to the needs of the over six million displaced persons and to consider steps that can be taken now to support refugees and IDPs to find solutions in the future.<\/p>\n
- Development actors, including international agencies, bilateral aid agencies and regional bodies should become fully engaged in addressing both the present needs of the displaced and the communities which host them and in seeking solutions.\n
- Assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) should be improved and increased, particularly for those living outside of camps.\n
- International agencies must continue to affirm the humanitarian and non-political nature of assistance.\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mecouncil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Syrian-IDP-Graph.webp\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mecouncil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Syrian-Refugee-Graph.webp\")