Migration, Mobility and Circulation

This report provides a contextual analysis of the provision of refugee protection in Lebanon. It highlights the absence of a comprehensive refugee protection legal framework, in favor of a  set of formal and informal ad hoc policies, which are limited in scope and inclusivity. While the Lebanese polity is a signatory of international conventions calling for non-discriminatory protection, and non-refoulement, it falls short in practice with direct and indirect measures, breaching those very principles.

This report aims to provide a contextual understanding of migration governance in the Lebanese context, as well as its implications for refugees and migrants. Towards this end, this report provides an overview of the legal and policy framework in Lebanon, notably within the context of the Syrian refugee crisis erupting in 2011. Moreover, the report critically evaluates the legal statuses – if any – pertaining to ‘asylum seekers’, ‘refugees’, and ‘migrants’ on the one hand, and the role of state and non-state actors on the other.

The objective of the report is to identify the psychosocial impact and needs of humanitarian actors working with refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, North Iraq and Palestine. The research approach was based on mixed methods combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies. A closed questionnaire was disseminated online on the one hand, and on the other, in-depth interviews were conducted with selected candidates.