FORCED DISPLACEMENT IN SYRIA ( Poverty and joblessness)

The numbers of displaced people in Syria make this the largest IDP crisis in the world,
with possibly also the largest number of people who are ‘trapped’. In addition, the
number of refugees from Syria continues to increase – Syrian refugees themselves, Iraqi
and Palestine refugees, and others.

As the civil war in Syria drags on, the scale of displacement continues to increase. While
the crisis may be prolonged, refugees and IDPs need support now for their protection,
their recovery, and both their immediate and their long-term prospects.
Now entering its 11th year, the Syrian refugee crisis remains the world’s largest refugee and displacement
crisis of our time. Since the Syrian civil war officially began March 15, 2011, families have suffered under brutal
conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, torn the nation apart, and set back the standard of
living by decades.

About 5.6 million Syrians are refugees, and another 6.1 million people are displaced within Syria. Nearly 11.1
million people in Syria need humanitarian assistance. And about half of the people affected by the Syrian
refugee crisis are children.Most of the forced migrants, fleeing the violence in Syria, make their way
to Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan. Unfortunately,, the refugees and residents in these countries are
surviving in dangerous conditions, especially when the harsh winter weather approaches. The
existing infrastructure cannot support the arrival of displaced people.

Healthcare centers and hospitals, schools, utilities, and water and sanitation systems are damaged or
destroyed. Historic landmarks and once-busy marketplaces have been reduced to rubble. War severed the
social and business ties that bound neighbors to their community.

Continued conflict has created economic despair. “On top of the strain on families’ ability to secure basic food
rations and household items, the economic impact of the war continues to drive serious child protection
concerns, including negative impacts on education,” says Barrett Alexander, a senior policy advisor for World
Vision. “Parents are forced to remove children from school due to the inability to pay fees, and teachers are not
receiving their salaries. Some children go to schools in the displacement camps but arrive covered in mud,
having walked miles upon miles to attend. Many girls who drop out of school are severely impacted by child
marriage.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated the poverty and joblessness faced by refugees. At least 1.1
million Syrian refugees and displaced people in Syria have been driven into poverty as a result of the
pandemic, according to a December 2020 report by the World Bank Group and the U.N. Refugee Agency.

Crisis: The Syrian refugee crisis refers to the humanitarian emergency resulting from the Syrian civil war that
began March 15, 2011. The Syrian refugee crisis has exacted a heavy toll on hundreds of thousands of
children and their families. It’s the largest refugee and displacement crisis of our time, affecting millions of
people and spilling into surrounding countries. It’s also a protracted crisis, which is an ongoing complex crisis of
five years or more

- History War:

- Situation, Position:

Why are Syrians leaving their homes?

Civil war affects children negatively:

+ Child labor and child soldiers

+ Diseases and malnutrition

+ Child marriage and abuse

+ Lack of education opportunities

Syrians are leaving their homes when life becomes unbearable. Some of the top reasons they cite include:

 Violence: Since the Syrian civil war began, nearly 585,000 people have been killed, including more than
21,900 children, reports the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The war has become deadlier since
foreign powers joined the conflict.
 Collapsed infrastructure: Within Syria, only 53% of hospitals and 51% of healthcare facilities are fully
functional, and more than 8 million people lack access to safe water. An estimated 2.4 million children are
out of school. Conflict has shattered the economy, and more than 80% of the population lives in poverty.

 Children in danger and distress: Syrian children — the nation’s hope for a better future — have lost loved
ones, suffered injuries, missed years of schooling, and experienced unspeakable violence and brutality.

Mohammed almost waited too late to get his family to Lebanon safely. Bombs destroyed their home and shop; his
brother was killed. Other families say their turning point was when militants occupied their school or their hospital was
destroyed.

For many Syrian children, all they have known is war. Their grim circumstances have had an extreme effect on
their mental, physical, and social health, jeopardizing the future of children who will one day need to rebuild
Syria.

+ Economy:
 More than 80% of Syrians live in extreme poverty, on less than $1.90 a day.
 With hundreds of thousands of people newly displaced in northern Syria, aid groups are struggling to
meet their needs for shelter, access to clean water, and food.

+ Politics:
Syria’s army has been regaining territory since late 2015. Only governorates in the northeast and
northwest remain outside government control.

+ Education:

 Humanitarian groups are unable to access many conflict areas, so

there’s limited knowledge of civilians’ needs.
 Displacement Crisis
  Across the country, there are 6.1 million internally displaced. By mid-February, 900,000
people had been displaced due to hostilities in Idlib governorate, according to the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). As of May, the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) records indicate that a total of 13,423 self-
organized spontaneous returns had taken place from neighboring host countries. Turkey
maintained a closed border.
 On February 27, Turkey announced authorities would not intercept asylum seekers
wishing to leave Turkey and head towards the European Union. Thousands of migrants
and asylum seekers, including Syrian refugees, gathered at the Turkish-Greek border.
Many of those that managed to cross into Greece were summarily pushed back. Greek
security forces, along with unidentified armed men, detained, assaulted, sexually
assaulted, robbed, and stripped asylum seekers and migrants, then forced them back to
Turkey. Turkey continues to detain and summarily deport Syrians back to northern Syria
in violation of its obligations under international law.
 Syrian refugees in Lebanon bear the brunt of the deep economic and financial crisis in
the country, in addition to widespread public and institutional discrimination.
 Due to restrictive Lebanese residency policies, only 22 percent of an estimated 1.5
million Syrian refugees in Lebanon have the legal right to live in the country, leaving the
majority to live under the radar, subject to arbitrary arrest, detention, harassment and
summary deportation to Syria. At least 21 Lebanese municipalities have used the Covid-
19 outbreak as a pretext to impose discriminatory restrictions on Syrian refugees that do
not apply to Lebanese residents. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the already-
difficult situation for refugees and internally displaced people with disabilities in
Lebanon.
 Even before pandemic-related school closures, more than 2 million children in Syria, and
nearly a million refugee children, were out of school. Syrian refugee children
face financial and bureaucratic obstacles to education beyond the primary level, with
little support from host countries or international donors. Enrollment rates collapsed
from as high as 95 percent in primary schools to less than 30 percent in upper-secondary
schools in Turkey and in Jordan, and to less than 5 percent in Lebanon.
Accommodations for refugee children with disabilities at schools were virtually non-
existent in Lebanon and Jordan.
 The Syrian government continues to bar humanitarian workers from accessing and
providing aid to 12,000 refugees stranded at al-Rukban camp near the Jordanian border.
Delivery of basic goods to the camp is sporadic and made through informal routes,
according to UNOCHA.
 In July, Danish Minister of Immigration and Integration Mattias Tesfaye announced that
Denmark will be reviewing—and possibly revoking—residence permits for refugees
whom it deems no longer need protection. The country has already revoked five permits
for refugees from Damascus given that the situation there has “improved.”

- Ally
Russia, Turkey, and Iran continue to wield influence in Syria, with Russia spearheading efforts
to politically legitimize the Syrian government, including through its use of the veto in the UN
Security Council. Turkey’s influence is seen in areas under its direct control in Syria, as well as
indirectly in Idlib governorate, where in March it negotiated a ceasefire with Russia that
remains intact.

The US maintains its support for the anti-ISIS coalition operating in Syria and provides
financial and logistical support to the Syrian Democratic Forces, as well as stabilization aid in
the region. In the UN Security Council, the US, and some European Council members have
pushed for the reinstatement of the humanitarian cross-border mechanism and have supported
accountability for violations in Syria. Russia has continued to use its veto power to eviscerate the
cross-border aid mandate.

The European Union continued to condemn violations of human rights and international
humanitarian law in Syria, and reiterated support for international accountability efforts. The
EU hosted its fourth Brussels conference on Syria remotely, focusing on a political solution to
the crisis and response to humanitarian needs.

Both the EU and the US renewed and expanded sanctions on the Syrian government.

- Conflict, enemies

- Where are Syrian refugees going?

The majority of Syria’s 5.6 million refugees have fled — by land and sea — across borders to neighboring
countries but remain in the Middle East.

 Turkey — 3.6 million Syrian refugees are in Turkey. About 90% of Syrian refugees in Turkey live
outside of refugee camps and have limited access to basic services.
 Iraq — 243,121 Syrian refugees are in Iraq. Most are in the Kurdistan region in the north where more
than a million Iraqis fled to escape ISIS. Most refugees are integrated into communities, putting a
strain on services.
[Sample Draft Resolution] Draft Resolution

Committee: United Nations Security Council

Topic: Regulating the Global Arms Trade and mitigating Armed Conflicts leading to
Humanitarian Crises

Sponsors: United Kingdom, United States

Signatories: United Kingdom, United States, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Belgium

Noting with deep concern about the adverse consequences regarding human rights abuses
and violation caused by Global Arms Transfer,

Noting further the international aim of regulating the global trade in conventional arms –
from small arms to battle tanks, combat aircraft and warships,

Fully aware of the lax control over military manufacturing and selling and the decrial of
relevant Treaty and Agreement from some nations in the circulation of munitions,

Bearing in mind the relentless efforts and assistance of international organisations such as
the UN and EU in moderating the Worldwide Arms Trafficking,

Emphasizing the arms trade-related interests which prevent some exporters from
restricting their weapons supplies to some countries suffering humanitarian crisis owing
to armed war,

Viewing the adoption of Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in 2014, the Code of Conduct on
arms transfer of U.S Congress and EU in 1994 and 1991 respectively and the 2005
International Tracing Instrument with appreciation,
Expressing satisfaction towards the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly to
set restrictions on the usage of certain conventional armaments that proved to be
excessively lethal in September 2017,

1. Encourages national adherence to some of the UN principles by laws and treaty:

a. Wholeheartedly supporting the UN with finances and facilities on demand,

b. Conforming to some of UN policies on the basis of national interests and policies;

2. Calls upon other countries to sign in a decree of stopping exporting weapons to Saudi
Arabia which certainly ends the war in Yemen and to practice heavy punishments on
violating countries:

a. Calling for ideas contributions to find common points, hence devising appropriate
measures to tackle the issues relating to the arms trade,

b. Using banners and propaganda in order to clarify the advantages that nations can
benefit from, which helps raise awareness and provide motivation to better regulate arms
trade, leading to the world’s tranquillity;

3. Assists nations in need by supplying weapons to repel the detrimental impacts of

conflicts and other national insecurities:

a. Also following the provision of aid programmes to handle the ramifications of

unwanted damage and casualties;

4. Enhances close allies' military developments by exchanging technological

advancements in armaments and exporting weapons to ensure its ability in self-defense:

a. Excluding the using or stockpiling of certain injurious weapons such as biological and
chemical armaments,

b. Ensuring the security matters of the nations worldwide to get away from conflicts or
potential struggles;

5. Acknowledges the nation's sovereignty in making its own decisions;

6. Prioritizes national interests in all aspects, especially the safety of the citizens:

a. Guaranteeing national peace, security and stability by reinforcing national ability of

self-defense, which can be achieved by legal arms trade at a national and international
scale;
7. Calls upon more restrictive control on the illicit trade happening all parts of the globe:

a. Establishing more criteria on the possession of weaponry,

b. Conducting regular security check on legal possessors of weaponry,

c. Eliminating the operation of the black market in the aspect of arms trade;

d. Putting stricter security around international borders to eliminate arms smuggle.