Georgetown Security Law Brief

Syria’s refugees overwhelming relief efforts and host countries, UN official says

04/05/13:  The New York Times reports The head of a United Nations refugee agency said Thursday that refugees from Syria’s war were on the verge of overwhelming the United Nations and the countries bordering Syria. He predicted that by the end of the year, the flow of refugees will have swamped the resources of the United Nations and Lebanon and Jordan, two of the countries that border Syria. He asked to keep Lebanon’s borders open to Palestinians fleeing the fighting in Syria. So far 36,000 Palestinians already living as refugees in Syria have crossed the border into Lebanon, mostly cramming into already overcrowded, dilapidated refugee camps. Lebanon has kept a wary eye on the flow of Palestinians. It was the mass movement of Palestinians to Lebanon in the 1970s that catalyzed the Lebanese civil war. Lebanese officials have expressed concern that any Palestinian newcomers will become part of the permanent refugee population here. According to United Nations estimates, 3.6 million Syrians have been displaced within the nation’s borders since the uprising began in March 2011. At least 1.3 million more have left the country, mostly seeking refuge in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. About half a million Syrian refugees have registered in Lebanon.

Turkey reverses plans to deport 130 Syrian refugees

03/28/13:  The New York Times reports Turkey reversed its plans on Thursday to deport about 130 Syrian refugees involved in a violent protest at a refugee camp, saying that the refugees had agreed to leave voluntarily after being told that they would face prosecution if they stayed. The turnaround came as the United Nations refugee agency expressed “serious concern” about reports of mass deportations and said it was seeking clarification from the Turkish government. Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the United Nations high commissioner for refugees in Geneva, said in an interview that a forced return of refugees would violate international law and breach legal protections for refugees that prohibit host countries from forcing them out. A local government official in Turkey confirmed that Thursday afternoon, saying, “A deportation is out of question, and we cannot deport them when we do not have the right to do so according to the terms of temporary protection status.” But just a few hours earlier, another local government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with diplomatic protocols, said that nearly 100 Syrians had been identified as provocateurs based on security camera footage taken during the protest.

Iranian group rejects Albania asylum offer

03/17/13: The Miami Herald reports an Iranian opposition group Saturday turned down Albania's offer of asylum to 210 of its members who are living at a former US military base near Baghdad.  Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha made the offer after meeting with US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf, UN envoy in Iraq Martin Kobler, and other officials.  Berisha said the offer of asylum for the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq members was made for humanitarian reasons.  Shahin Gobadi of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which oversees the Mujahedeen, said that while they "really appreciate the [Albanian] government's helping hand," they couldn't accept an offer of asylum for such a small portion of the group.  The UN says more than 3,000 members (nearly fifteen times Albania's offer) live at the former US base.

UN: Syrian refugee rate rapidly increasing

03/11/13: CNN reports UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said Sunday that the number of Syrian refugees could double – if not triple – by the end of the year if the crisis continues without change.  Since the civil war began two years ago, more than 1 million have fled the country.  The number of refugees recorded has gone from 3,000 on average each day in December to 8,000 daily in February, Guterres said.  “Now if this escalation goes on – and nothing happens to solve the problem – we might have in the end of the year a much larger number of refugees” amounting to two or three times the present level, he added.  Most flee to surrounding countries, such as Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt, but they are increasingly going to North Africa and Europe.

Turkey PM Erdogan rules out amnesty for Kurd rebels

03/04/13: The blog Space War reports Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ruled out on Sunday a general amnesty for Kurdish rebels amid renewed peace talks between the country’s secret services and jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan.  “We are not entitled to pardon murderers. We will not interfere in such a thing,” Erdogan said.  Turkey’s spy agency resumed negotiations with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Ocalan late last year with an ultimate goal of disarming the rebel movement, which is branded as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies.  Ocalan has been serving a life sentence at Imrali prison on an island off Istanbul since his capture in Nairobi in 1999.  Erdogan says he is determined to settle the Kurdish conflict and will guarantee safe passage for rebels wishing to leave the country.

US simulates mass-migration scenario at Guantanamo

02/11/13: The Miami Herald reports soldiers, sailors and Homeland Security officials came to Guantánamo Bay this weekend to simulate a humanitarian-relief crisis inspired by the tens of thousands of Haitians and Cubans who overwhelmed the base in the 1990’s.  The exact nature of the scenario is classified, and only Pentagon-approved photos of the exercise will be released.  That’s because nobody wants news about it to touch off a real, live Caribbean exodus.  The intent, say organizers, is not to encourage anyone in the Caribbean to get on rafts to reach this Navy base in southeast Cuba, but to be ready in case it happens.  One thing they’ll rehearse is registering 1,000 migrants in a single day, and if history is any guide, the actors should cram inside the processing tent, desperate, undocumented and disorganized.

UN says 5000 people a day are now fleeing Syria

02/08/13:  The New York Times reports Syria’s conflict is now driving 5,000 people to seek safety in neighboring countries every day, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday, reporting a surge in their numbers in January.  The surge brought the numbers this week to 787,000, an increase of more than 50 percent since mid-December, Mr. Edwards said. The numbers now include 260,943 in Lebanon, the first country to exceed a quarter of a million Syrian refugees; 242,649 in Jordan; 177,180 in Turkey; and 84,852 in Iraq.  A report released Thursday by the French medical relief agency Doctors Without Borders warned that major gaps had arisen in assistance for refugees in Lebanon and that their profound humanitarian needs were not being met.

Syrian refugees entering Jordan in record numbers, UN says

01/25/13:  The New York Times reports Syrians are fleeing into Jordan in record numbers to escape escalating violence and destruction that is making it increasingly difficult for civilians to survive, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday.  More than 4,000 Syrians arrived at a camp in Zaatari in northern Jordan on Thursday and another 2,000 people overnight, the UNHCR said.  The influx, consisting mainly of families led by women, brought to more than 30,000 the number of Syrians reaching Zaatari this month, close to double the number who arrived in December.  The refugee agency reported it is also working double shifts to try to register Syrians who are living elsewhere in Jordan and expects to have 50,000 on its books by the end of February but it noted that Jordanian authorities say 300,000 Syrians have now entered the country.  The number of Syrian refugees in the region is approaching 700,000, the refugee agency said, with 221,000 registered as refugees in Lebanon, 156,000 in Turkey and 76,000 in Iraq.

 

Crackdowns make fleeing North Korea harder

01/05/13:  The New York Times reports under North Korea’s new leader, Kim Jong-un, human rights activists and South Korean officials say, it has become increasingly difficult to smuggle refugees out of the country, contributing to a sharp drop in the number of North Koreans reaching South Korea in the past year. The number of refugees has never been particularly large, since most North Koreans are so impoverished they find it all but impossible to raise the money to attempt an escape. But the tightening of controls at the Chinese border led to a fall of about 44 percent from the previous year in the number of refugees reaching South Korea in 2012. The total was 1,509, according to South Korean government data.

Syria refugees number 'more than 500,000' - UNHCR

12/11/12:  The BBC reports more than half a million people have now fled the conflict in Syria to neighbouring countries, according to the UN's refugee agency.  The UNHCR says it has accounted for 509,559 refugees so far, primarily in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, and that many more are yet to come forward. More than 2m people are also thought to be internally displaced within Syria.