C . TOPIC . Regional Constraints & Resettlement for the Syrian Refugee Crisis ( 2481 )
Observation .
Over 5 million people have fled Syria in the five years since the beginnings of its 2011 civil war in what has become the largest humanitarian crisis in our time . The majority of these refugees are now hosted by neighboring countries who have become overwhelmed by the influx , exacerbating tensions in a region already rife with years of displacement . While the UN works to implement the Regional Refugee & Resilience Plan ( 3RP ), it is underfunded , and neighboring countries remain disproportionately burdened as other nations of the world resist any major increase in refugee resettlement .
Discussion .
Since violent conflict erupted in Syria in 2011 , half of Syria ’ s pre-war population has been displaced – 6.6 million internally within Syria itself ( with almost 1 million beseiged , including those in Aleppo city ) and over 4.5 million in the surrounding region . The majority of Syrian refugees are currently hosted by five neighboring countries : Turkey ( the world ’ s top host of refugees with over 2.5 million ), Lebanon ( 1.1 million – over one-fifth of its population ), Jordan ( 635,000 ), Iraq ( 245,000 , compounding the 3.9 million IDPs already within the country ), and Egypt ( 118,000 ) – ( Amnesty International , February 2016 ). These Syrian refugees primarily live outside of refugee camps ; in Lebanon , most Syrian refugees live in unofficial tented settlements or rented accommodation , in Turkey , many seek work and live in urban communities , while major Syrian refugee camps such as Za ’ atari ( opened July 2012 ) and Azraq ( opened April 2014 ) have grown in Jordan .
These Syrian refugees join several pre-existing refugee populations in the region from prior conflicts . Following U . S . stability operations in Iraq and subsequent intensifying violence , an Iraqi refugee crisis emerged in 2006-2008 – the largest displacement crisis in the Middle East since 1948 , until surpassed by the current Syrian refugee crisis . Prior to U . S . operations , half a million Iraqi refugees from prior conflicts in the region had fled to neighboring countries of Jordan ( 300,000 ), Iran ( 200,000 ), Syria ( 40,000 ), and Saudi Arabia ( 5,000 ), with an additional million displaced internally . This displacement across the region has been further complicated by the more recent rise of the Islamic State ( IS ), which displaced approximately 1.7 million Iraqis in 2014 , according to estimates from the International Organisation for Migration ( IOM ).
The influx of Syrian refugees on a region already saturated with displacement is concerning , as “[ t ] he increasing number of Syrian refugees is widely recognized throughout the literature as having the potential to destabilize and polarize Lebanon , as have past refugee influxes in Lebanon ,” ( GSDRC , p . 5 ). Lebanon in particular already hosts Palestinian refugees ( from 1948 , 1967 , and the 1990s )
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